Mobius VII: Book One:  The Escape from the City
by Zonic The Zone Cop
Summary: ExSOLDIER Miles Tails Prower is caught up in a struggle against a corrupt corporation. But when he meets a mysterious Interbred, the shadows of his past catch up to him, and he now must stop a force that threatens Mobius. AU Sonic Adaptation of FFVII.
1. Rain in the the RINGTEK Mako Metropolis

**Mobius VII**

**BOOK 1: The Escape from the City**

**An AU Adaptation of Final Fantasy VII**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SATAM, Sonic the Hedgehog, SEGA Sonic, Final Fantasy VII and all related characters/plots; They belong to their respective companies.**

Chapter 1: Rain in the RINGTEK Mako Metropolis 

It started to rain.

The tiny droplets fell from the ashen, polluted skies for the first time in what seemed like ages. The dark and dreary clouds parted slightly, letting small beams of sunlight hit a cliff overlooking the gigantic city of Megapolis. As the light made its way up the face of the cliff, the tiny beams finally rested on the two figures that lay on its peak. Slowly, the light danced onto their bodies as the rain gently fell, finally making their way to the closed eyelids of the first figure, a young, 21 year old fox. Light raindrops stirred the figure awake as he felt the cold water sink its way through his navy-blue SOLDIER uniform and into his orange fur. Slowly the fox raised his head and opened his eyes, revealing two oddly shining blue irises. He scanned the area ahead, finally resting on the second figure lying still near him, a hedgehog. Raindrops trickled down the hedgehog's blue fur and quills, onto his own uniform and down his red track shoes. The expression on his face was strange; both happy and scared. When the fox saw his expression, his eyebrows rose in surprise, but what surprised him, no, scared him even more, was the fact that the look on his face was frozen.

'_What the hell happened here?_' The fox thought.

Before he knew it, his mind traveled back 15 minutes ago…

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"Miles! Get outta here, NOW!" The hedgehog hollered, as the fox, Miles stared at him, confused.

The spiky blue warrior brandished his enormous blade, which he had christened: The Buster Sword, and dashed to his opponents with blazing speed. Through Miles' eyes, he saw his ally battle valiantly against multiple opponents, however, what he saw through his eyes was tinted in a misty light green. Miles watched helplessly as his friend battled onwards, hacking and cleaving his way through the soldiers. On some occasions, the hedgehog leapt into the air and started to somersault with intense speed, before launching himself towards his opponents. Miles recognized this attack; it was his friend's famous "Triple-S" Attack, which he used to clear the opposing force.

Seeing that his job was done, he started to limp over to Miles' location, his body tired from his shoulder aching and bleeding where a stray bullet hit and all the constant fighting the two experienced while traveling to Megapolis. He sat in front of Miles, smiling, holding his Buster Sword in his left hand while he used his right to nurse his injured shoulder.

"Tch, damn bro. I must've gotten careless…" he muttered to Miles, who said nothing. "But don't worry about a thing Miles, were almost there; Megapolis is within our grasp!" He said with an air of confidence, as he assumed Miles was listening.

"Ugh… aahhh… ohhh…" was all Miles could say, his eyes only seeing green haze.

He tried to sit up, but his muscles failed him, and he ended up back on the hard, lifeless ground.

"Ahhh don't worry about it bro, you'll get better in no time, after we get into the city, and find a place to crash," the blue hedgehog said with a huge grin plastered on his muzzle. "Don't forget though, as soon as your better, were gonna be mercenaries! Me n you! Together were gonna be called Tails and S…" he stopped as his enhanced hearing kicked in.

He perked his ears up, listening for any unusual sounds. That's when he heard the sound of a gun reloading, readying and aiming right for…

His eyes widened as he knew his best friend was in grave danger. Using what little energy he had left, he jumped into the gun's line of sight, as the rifle fired. He let out piercing scream as the bullet penetrated his lower abdomen. Cursing slightly, the hedgehog struggled to get up, using his massive blade as a support. As soon as he did, he felt more bullets pierce his body, forcing him to nearly black out from all the pain. Resisting the urge to pass out, the hedgehog raised his blade and started running towards the gunmen. It was then he yelled his final words…

"TAILS! RUN!"

**BANG!**

And it was then that Miles' weakened body forced him to pass out…

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About five minutes later, the rain started. It was a few minutes later when the sun started to peek through the polluted clouds. It was roughly 30 seconds afterward when Miles, or Tails as he was called due to his twin tails, awoke alone, with no gunmen in sight; they probably assumed he was dead. But it only took a fraction of a second for him to realize what his friends frozen expression finally meant. His friend, the spiky blue furred hedgehog, died protecting him. Tears started to well up in the fox's eyes. '_No_' he thought. '_My friend wouldn't want me to live like this._' Realizing this, he opened his eyes and wiped his tears. That's when his eyes fell to the sword clutched in his best friend's hand; The Buster Sword.

Suddenly, Tails felt his strength returning, although it was coming back little by little. He started to crawl to his friend's side where the Buster Sword lay. His vision started to return to normal, then it enhanced itself; allowing Tails to see everything with enhanced visibility, range and contrast. His hearing started to become extra sensitive; he could probably hear a pin drop 50 miles away now. As he slowly crawled up to his friend's side, he looked at the massive blade that was before him. To any normal man or Mobian, one would probably exert vast amounts of energy to lift the sword. Even those with great strength would have a bit of trouble wielding it. But to the hedgehog, he wielded the behemoth blade as if it was part of his own arm.

'_If _he_ can do it, then so can I,_' Tails thought to himself.

Little did he realize that his muscles were getting stronger at an incredible rate, to the point where he could probably lift a grown man effortlessly. He grasped the hilt of the sword, and discovered that it was still warm. The feeling of the hilt's soft grip comforted Tails; it was like being reunited with his best friend.

He then tried to lift it, the weight of it making his right arm tremble as he raised the sword over his head, as though he was victorious. The fox's eyes turned towards the heavens and he uttered a prayer through his mind before he finally stood up and used the blade as a walking stick as he headed down the cliff, towards Megapolis as the rain started to come down faster and harder.

'_Source, I shall live for him, I shall live his life for him, the one who saved my life and gave me a new one._'

'_Sonic, my friend, Thank you…_'

Little did he know that a voice in his head was laughing silently…

End Chapter


	2. The Slums of Sector 7

**A/N**: OK, many of you may be surprised right now, figuring that "Hey! Sonic's supposed to be Cloud! Not Tails!" Theres a reason I did that. I don't want to say much, because I want you to get to the action, but to sum it up, Tails has always been in Sonic's shadow, always being protected by him. The same thing applies to Cloud and Zack. Both Sonic and Tails, and Cloud and Zack share similar brotherly bonds with each other, I believe. I wanted to show that Tails and Cloud have close similarites with each other... Mind you though, that Tails is not supposed to act too seriously at times. I figured this is what Tails is going to be like 10-12 years from his current age, considering no one really takes him seriously. Anyway, this chapter starts out in Tails' P.O.V. then finishes in the normal P.O.V. I wanted to deviate from the normal script (I've had this fic pre-made until the 8th chapter, I'm currently working on it now) and add in some originality to this. However, you'll see definite similarities in the main stuff, but I added in quite a lot of things to hopefully balance it. As well, this chapter introduces Cream, the Tifa character! And a final thing, who do you guys think was the sinister voice in Tails' head? You'll find out soon... Well without further ado, Enjoy Chapter 2! And leave a review! Hey! That rhymed! Woo-Hoo!!

**Disclamer:** See Chapter 1.

Chapter 2: The Slums of Sector 7

:: Tails' P.O.V. ::

I must've been lucky so far to get in to Megapolis' Sector 7 slum… but I figure my luck's gonna run out soon. I had a rough time getting down from that cliff; the rocks were sharp and the rain didn't help much, it slowed me down quite a lot, but it lightened up just a bit when I neared the city. When I reached the gateway into the sector, I started to feel uneasy; how in hell am I supposed to get in that place? Damn this place… creating this unnecessary security… as they say, once you go in, you never get out. Luckily, a someone in a car en route to the sector's main security gateway happened to pass by. The driver said some stuff... then offered me a lift to get inside. Seeing as I couldn't talk, much less understand what the hell he's talking about I decided to accept his generous offer. Though, after we passed the gates and entered Sector 7 proper, he booted me outta the freakin' car, yellin' that he drops all Mobians here, because he won't bring them any further… Racist human bastard probably thinks just because we look like animals means that we have to live outside like animals… I guess I should be lucky that I was even IN Megapolis, much less alive and well… at least I'm ok, if you don't count the fact that I can't speak and that I can't really move well. Plus, there's this weird buzzing in my head… whatever happened before I guess I don't really remember… all I remember is seeing these weird white flashes, having this sword strapped on my back and traveling to Megapolis to become a mercenary since I quit being in SOLDIER… Soon enough, I reached the train station, when all of a sudden, my muscles gave way, and I ended up toppling over and falling face first into the hard pavement. Someone must've seen me fall, because right now he's tryin' to help me sit up…

That's where I am right now; I guess my lucks just ran out… I feel like passing out right now, but I've got to be strong. Who knows what kind of crazy people lurk in these slums… if I'm not careful, I'll end up dead…

"Hey kid, you alright?" Heh, the Mobian who helped me up, I think he's worried about me… or maybe he's leading me into a false sense of security… whatever happens, I've got to be on my toes.

"I'm fine, thank you…" I'd reply… if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't speak a single word… all that I heard outta me was:

"Ugh… ahh… Gurk…"

Not good, I can't communicate… I guess I'm in a lot of trouble now…

: End P.O.V. :

The large shutter-bay doors opened up as a young rabbit entered Sector 7. She exited Sector 6 using a fake I.D., thanking the Source that it worked.

'_Hmm… maybe I better thank Jessie first then the Source,_' she thought.

Her long ears, wavy hair and cream-colored fur fluttered in the air as the bay doors closed, locking her in Sector 7. A few of the male Kintobor soldiers, human and Mobian, wolf-whistled at the 20 year old rabbit when she emerged from Sector 6 with a paper bag full with groceries. However she shook her head and ignored them as she started to proceed towards her bar deep within the slums.

She was an attractive female Mobian. As a young child, she reeked of cuteness that people couldn't help but be drawn towards. But as she aged and matured, her cute and adorable look transformed into a stunning, gorgeous motif, easily captivating males, both Mobian and Human, with her developed looks. But behind all of her gorgeousness, lay a fierce warrior spirit, honed in the teachings of martial arts. She demonstrated this when she first arrived in the Slums two years ago to sign the rights to the bar. A punk tried to pull the moves on her and felt her up. She retaliated by breaking both his arms and his jaw, finishing off with a hard kick to the groin. After that day, no one, not even the Kintobor soldiers near the Sector 7 Slums dared to pick a fight with Cream Rabbit, unless they wanted their pride shattered into pieces. But none could resist the innocent charms of the rabbit. She had amber-brown eyes and long, wavy cream-colored hair, the same color as her fur, with bangs that she brushed away once in a while. She also had long, drooping ears, brown at the tips, which were the same length as her hair. Her body was slender and developed, hiding the fact that she was a natural fighter. She wore a tank-top, cut off at the midriff and a skirt which went three quarters down her thighs, almost touching her knees. One might say that she looked skanky, but to her, it was her most comfortable battle attire. On both of her hands she wore fighting gloves, made from the finest hard leather, to prevent her hands from scaring when she fought, and finally, steel-toed fighting shoes, covered in fine brown leather. As she traveled up the path leading from the bay doors to the crossroad between the train station and her bar, she noticed a strange, orange-furred fox character sitting on one of the steps at the station, being accompanied by a Mobian train conductor. To her, something was familiar with that fox character sitting on the step.

'_He looks like… nah it can't be..._' Cream thought to herself. Afterward, she turned around to return home, when another thought entered her mind: '_But I really wonder what's wrong with him, maybe I should see?_' Curiosity overcame her and she directed herself back to the train station.

"Hey, excuse me? Can you tell me what's wrong with him?" Cream asked politely, taking note that the conductor works for Kintobor Inc.

"I dunno, I just found him here," the conductor replied. "He doesn't look so hot though, maybe you can see what's wrong with him?" The conductor then left to attend the last trains readying for departure into the main city.

Cream nodded and got closer to the orange furred fox. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the fox's face, although matured, was identical to the same fox that left her hometown in pursuit of the ultimate dream: Joining SOLDIER and becoming the best there is. She also noted the twin, bushy and messy tails that protruded from his backside. '_There's only ONE fox I know who has tails like those!_' she thought happily. Clearing her throat and smiling, she said, "Miles, is that you?"

In Tails' mind, he was losing the battle for his consciousness, but when he heard a familiar, soft voice, his heart skipped a beat. His inner conscience scanned his memory and found who that soft voice belonged to…

'_Cream, is that you?_' he thought.

Suddenly he started to panic; he didn't know how to act after all this time not seeing her, his childhood friend, but after recollecting some of the distorted fragments of his memory and piecing them back together randomly, he opened his eyes, shining blue meeting glowing amber-brown. Instantly, his voice returned. "Yep, it's me alright," he said confidently, not realizing that his voice was scratchy, since he hasn't used it in Source knows how long.

Cream's eyes brightened up, and a genuine smile etched onto her face, realizing that her childhood friend has, indeed, returned. "It really IS you, Miles!" she exclaimed. "How long has it been?"

Suddenly, Tails' pupils dilated, as he clutched his head, hearing a sharp, high-pitched buzz running through his head. Cream was startled by the behavior of her friend, but what scared her was the look on his face as he clutched his head. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his jaw locked, gritting his teeth as if he was in excruciating pain. And as sudden as it started, it ended just as quickly when Tails regained his sensed and stood up. "Five… It's been five years since I last saw you, Cream," he said, with a small smile on his face.

Cream was startled by what he said. '_Miles looks like he's in bad shape… he looks like he went through hell and back… but I don't remember seeing him five years ago…Its been about seven years since I last saw him, what's going on?_' Her mind was racing with all these thoughts. She knew from the bottom of her heart that Miles was not himself. She decided to play along with his charade. "Yes, it has been five years since I last saw you, how are you?" she asked, waiting to hear Tails say it was all a joke.

"I'm fine, in fact I just quit SOLDIER and I'm now a mercenary," Tails replied proudly.

Cream's eyes widened in shock; '_Miles was in SOLDIER, and now he quit and became a mercenary? I don't remember hearing about Miles becoming a SOLDIER… he would have told me about it sooner… but,_ _if he's a mercenary… then that means one day he might get a dangerous job and just leave! And in his condition, he may not survive for long!_' Cream thought as she read the look on Tails' face. He wore a stoic expression on his face, but it had also shown signs of extreme fatigue. '_But, what if I take him in, and take care of him? I'm really worried about him, he's not himself…_' she thought. '_But what if… I offer him a job in our organization? He might stay… It's worth a shot I guess…_' Hesitatingly, she took in a breath, preparing herself for what she was going to ask him. "Miles?" she called.

"Hmm, what's up, Cream?" Tails replied.

Cream shifted the weight on her grocery bag to the other arm and started to shuffle her toe a bit, "I was wondering… whether you'd be interested in taking a job for me and the organization I work for? The pay is gonna be good, so you don't have to worry about it. And," she added, "You can stay at my bar, so there's no need to find a place to stay. So how about it?" she asked, her voice hinted with a plea.

Tails thought about it for a while. '_Hmm… Free room and board, plus I get my first job as a mercenary, and I get to stay with someone I actually know in this city! Man today's really my lucky day for me to bump into my childhood friend…_' Tails smiled slightly as he said, "OK, I'll take your offer, but just what is your organization called and what is it that you actually do?" he asked.

Cream's smile faded a little after Tails asked what her organization does. "Well Miles…" she sighed, her voice dropping so no one would listen in, "Our organization is called TORNADO. We're an eco-terrorist organization whose main purpose is to spread the word that Mako energy, created by Kintobor Inc. is slowly killing Mobius," Cream explained as her voice continually dropped until it was naught but a whisper. "In a few days, well be starting our first major mission, we're gonna blow up… a RINGTEK Mako Reactor in Sector 1." Cream finished, her smile now turning into a frown. '_Sigh… he's probably gonna turn down the job,_' she thought.

Tails pondered on this for a few seconds before making his decision. "Well, I don't care what kind of job it is, as long as one: I get paid," he said with a cool look in his eyes, "and two: that it doesn't have anything to do with working with Kintobor Inc. again." He exclaimed, noting the surprised expression on Cream's face. "In conclusion Ms. Rabbit," he continued, "consider my services as a mercenary available to you as of today." He finished, stumbling a bit, due to fatigue. "Oh and one more thing," he added as he straightened himself up. "Don't call me Miles. Call me… Tails." he finished standing in a pose, with a small smile on his face.

Cream raised an eyebrow at what Tails said. '_Miles is acting really weird… First he comes in looking like he's from SOLDIER, then he exclaims that he's a mercenary. Now he wants me to call him Tails? I mean I guess it's obvious as to why he's called Tails… but from the way he stands and talks… it's like he's another person… Plus, he's been having weird spasms; clutching his head in pain… and then, sometimes he looks happy, but then turns angry… I wonder what happened to him that warranted such pain_' Cream thought as Tails picked up his sword, his face returning to his stoic, emotionless expression. '_I'll make it my mission to find out what's really wrong with Miles… I mean, Tails. Perhaps something awful happened when he was in SOLDIER?_' Continuing to wonder as to what really happened to Tails, Cream watched as he brandished and spun his enormous sword around in a perfect circle before placing it in the hard, leather strap-sheath on his back, finishing with that same pose. Once again, Cream's thoughts jumbled, seeing this pose a second time. '_That pose is very familiar… I think I've seen it before,_' Cream reflected as Tails started to stare at her, questioningly.

"Hey Cream? Aren't we heading to your place yet?" he asked.

Cream jumped as she snapped back to reality. Frustrated at the fact that she was caught staring, she turned around and shifted her groceries back to their original position. "Let's get going, Ok Tails?" she said huffily, embarrassed at the fact that Tails noticed that she zoned out. Tails only smiled slightly and shook his head as he slowly walked up to meet Cream. His muscles weren't fully healed yet as he once again started to stumble a little bit. Frustrated, Tails pulled out the Buster Sword again and used it as a walking stick, as the twosome preceded into the heart of the Sector 7 Slums…

End Chapter

**A/N**: And there's Chapter 2. I want to thank my first reviewer, Blue Mage Quartet for my first review EVER! Like I said in the author's note at the start, I've been tweaking the fic for a while now, trying to keep it original you know? So, stick around Blue Mage! Your in for a wild ride! Oh and everyone else, PLEASE leave a review, no Flames once again. Later!


	3. The Leader of TORNADO

**A/N:** Hey everybody! I'm back again. I just finished the eighth chapter, so I'm gonna go ahead and post the third now. Also, I've taken the liberty of re-editing the first chapter, so it's easier to read. Thanks to reviewers Blue Mage Quartet and Taranea for reviewing. For this chapter, I added a dream sequence called The Void, to explore Tails' inner mind in his dreams and the conflicts that occur in them. Also, the characters playing Barret and Marlene make their debuts and the events begin to unfold as the 'game' begins! So, enjoy Chapter 3; what happens? You'll see!

One more thing, for the dream sequence, **Bold signifies Mysterious Voice 1._ Bold italicized is Mysterious Voice 2._**

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter 1. I also don't own Full Metal Alchemist; if you squint you'll see the reference. I also don't own Hope, she comes from Sonic Archie.

Chapter 3: The Leader of TORNADO

"Well, here we are, Tails!" Cream exclaimed, excited that she was finally reunited with his childhood friend. All traces of confusion gone from her visage, Cream walked up the creaky wooden steps towards the old fashioned saloon-styled doors. She peeked through the doors, noting the time was exactly 1:45 am, Megapolis Standard Time. Seeing no one was in the bar, she opened the doors silently. Taking one final glance around the room, she motioned for Tails to come in.

"Well, this is it? You like?" Cream whispered as Tails wandered around the bar. It was a quaint, little place, with several tables strewn around. Cream then turned on the lights in the bar, where the area was flooded with a warm yellow light. This gave the bar its relaxing and hospitable atmosphere. A stack of drinks were set up behind the counter, locked securely. From the looks of this place, it received a lot of customers daily.

"Nice place you've got here, you've really out done yourself, Cream," Tails murmured in awe. "But why work at a bar?" he asked.

"You forget, Tails," Cream whispered, adding a quiet chuckle as she packed her groceries into the fridge at the back, "I don't just work at the bar, I OWN it. This is Vanilla's Haven."

"Hmm… Then that changes everything," spoke Tails quietly. "Hey Cream, can ya do me a favour?" he inquired.

Slowly walking towards the bar counter, as if she was reading his mind, the female fighter asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Gimme something to drink," Tails said as he put on a somewhat serious face.

Cream giggled lightly as she took a shot glass and a wine flute out. Unlocking the cabinet behind her, she took a bottle of Aged Kalm Whiskey from the back, poured it into the first glass, added ice, and passed it to Tails. Taking the wine flute next, she poured some red wine into it. She walked over to Tails, holding her glass as she raised it to his eye level, motioning Tails to do the same.

"Cheers," the two friends whispered simultaneously as the glasses clinked, and its contents drained.

"Don't worry about the pay," Cream murmured as Tails dug into his pockets, looking for any spare Mobium, "this one's on the house. Now let me show you to your room."

She left the counter, and walked towards the kitchen area, where she proceeded to unlock a door. Tails followed close behind. As Cream was in the middle of finding the keys, Tails' ears perked up, his enhanced hearing picking up something unnatural… something that sounded like… a gun reloading…

Narrowing his eyes, Tails silently unsheathed his monstrous blade, as he used his Mako-enhanced senses to determine where the attacker was.Scanning the room several times, he came to a conclusion. '_Whatever's freakin' me out isn't in here… he must be… OUTSIDE!_' Tails' eyes widened as he put up a guarding stance; placing the sword in front, with the width of the blade facing out, protecting his face and body and stealthily walked away from Cream towards the entrance, watching and waiting for the mysterious intruder to strike…

Suddenly, a bulky figure whisked himself into the bar, firing several hundred rounds from his gun, all aimed for Tails. With the Buster Sword taking the burnt of the force, Tails pushed forward, despite his fatigue, until he was close enough to the large figure to strike. Using his newfound speed to his advantage, Tails sidestepped, making sure that the gunman followed so he wouldn't injure Cream accidentally and then, using precise agile motions, ducked and weaved through the bullets, until he was close enough to slice his throat. Before the final blow was struck, however, Cream suddenly intervened.

"STOP! STOP FIGHTING YOU TWO!!!!!!!!" She screamed. Tails' sword stopped, the blade just barely touching the larger figure's neck. The bear-like figure tensed up, feeling the cold metal touching his fur and skin. "Tails please," Cream pleaded, "Don't kill him, please?"

Seeing the look in her eyes, Tails relaxed, and withdrew the sword, placing it on his back once more. The gunman also relaxed, letting out a small gasp as he saw his life flash before his eyes. Standing into the light, Tails finally saw what his attacker looked like.

He was a large Bear Mobian. His fur was colored yellowish white. He wore a brown, faded leather vest, which had seen better days. He sported a pair of green war fatigue slacks and large brown boots. He wore a white and red cap on his head, turned backwards, and tufts of hair were sticking out from under it. His body was large and muscular, with no visible signs of flabbiness. He looked to be in his early or mid thirties and he wore a scowl on his face as he stared at Tails. But Tails was not staring back at his face, but at his right arm. For in place of his right arm, connected at the elbow joint was a large Gun-Arm.

'_I've heard of these before, they used special machinery to graft the guns mechanisms with the nerves in the arm, but I've never seen one in real life,_' Tails slowly recollected, as he continued to stare at the gun. '_Hmm… it's a Gatling Gun variation… that's why he was firing so many rounds within a short amount of time… Good thing my sword's made of a strong metal, or else the bullets would have put me outta my misery…_' Tails thought, shivering very slightly, making sure no one noticed.

Seeing that the two have finally calmed down, Cream broke the tense silence. "Umm… this is my, well, boss." She said to Tails, pointing at the large bear. "His name is Bark, the leader of TORNADO. Bark, this is my friend M…" She was cut off by Bark's harsh stare as he spoke with a gruff and equally harsh voice.

"I don't care if he's your friend or not, he smells like Kintobor," he spoke as he continued to glare at Tails with malice. "And once Kintobor, ALWAYS Kintobor, so if he tries anything," he spoke as he readied his Gun-Arm, "I'll personally kill him," he finished as he gave Tails his most fearsome glare. Tails returned that with a cool, collected and calm look on his emotionless face that said he wasn't afraid of him, or anyone. Breaking his glare, Bark turned to Cream. "And you," he started, "We gotta talk." And with that, Bark walked towards one of the tables and sat down, waiting for Cream to finish her business impatiently.

Cream sighed and shook her head. "C'mon Tails, I'll show you your room," she called as Tails followed her through the now unlocked door to the upstairs area of the bar.

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As soon as Tails was fast asleep in her room, Cream made her way downstairs to meet Bark. Clearly he wasn't happy about Cream's decision about letting the Ex-SOLDIER stay at the bar where they were vulnerable.

"What the hell's your damn problem?!" Bark hissed as Cream came into full view. "He's from Kintobor Inc., who knows if he'll turn us in. What were you thinking?!" he finished as he saw Cream standing rigid; reacting very little towards the harsh words of her boss.

"Look Bark, let me explain," she started. "My friend Tails quit SOLDIER, and now he's a mercenary. He doesn't want anything to do with Kintobor Inc. ever again, you understand?" she questioned. '_Besides, he's not himself, Kintobor Inc. must have done something horrible to him…_' she almost added, forcing herself not to say it in front of her boss. "Look, I've hired him for the mission," she continued, fists clenching slightly at the mention of the dangerous task. "He'll be valuable to us, after all he DID work for Kintobor."

Bark closed his eyes and considered this. After a brief silence, he nodded. "Alright, I'll let him come; just tell him to stay the hell outta my way, ok?" he uttered as he approached the broken pinball machine in the corner of the bar. Pressing the two flipper buttons twice, and then pulling the pinball launcher back, the floor around the machine started to lower, as Bark descended down the secret elevator to the Headquarters of TORNADO, leaving Cream alone in the bar.

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The Void

/**Hmm… so that's Cream huh? **/ A mysterious voice echoed in Tails' mind as he slumbered. The voice sounded very familiar to him, as though he heard it not long ago…

/_**Yea, she's changed a lot… I'm surprised…**_/ A second voice piped up, sounding like a young child.

'_Huh? What the..? Who are you guys?'_ thought Tails as he slept.

Soon enough, as he dreamt, he saw faint and heavily blurry figures stare at him.

/**You don't need to know… yet,** / Mysterious voice 1 said. /**You still need to rest a bit bro, soon enough your gonna enter a new battle, and you gotta be prepared for the worst. **/

/_**Yes, it's true, **_/ Mysterious voice 2 interjected. /_**You're still not healed yet, give it some time, ok? **_/

/**I'll leave you a hint though bro, **/ Mysterious voice 1 said his voice and blurry image fading. /**Use the two Emeralds in the sword, you can do it Tails…** /

/_**Believe in yourself!**_ / Mysterious voice 2 cried as he also faded into the distance.

'_Emeralds?_' Tails thought as his fragmented memories recalled an incident with the item. Super-condensed Mako, forming in the shape of a gemstone; no one knew why they took that shape, but its uses far outweighed its odd creation. He didn't know where he learned this information from; it was just... there, swimming in his mind, along with others, some known, others, unknown… Putting aside all these thoughts about memories, Tails continued into deep slumber…

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"Tails…" a light, but faint voice spoke out, arousing Tails from his slumber.

"Tails!" the voice cried louder.

Slowly, Tails opened his eyes to see Cream standing at the doorway, brushing her cream bangs away from her eyes.

"Unnh… What time is it?" Tails asked, groggily.

Checking the clock at one end of the hall, she replied, "Its 9:05 in the night, Tails." She kept her eyes on the clock as Tails rubbed the sleep off his eyes. Finally looking at him, she sighed. "You were out for two days Tails," she said, with a tiny hint of sadness in her voice.

"I see…" Tails replied as he looked at her with an expressionless face. Looking back to where his sword was, he added, "the operation's today isn't it?"

"Yeah…" was Cream's only reply.

After what seemed like hours of silence, Tails rose from the hard mattress, noting that he had full mobility of all his muscles. It was like he felt almost 100 percent better. Picking up his sword with little effort, he realized that there were two small, green emerald-like crystals in the linked slot of his sword. One had a small ice crystal embedded on the inside; the other had small lightning bolts.

'_Emeralds huh?_' he thought, referring back to his dream.

Shaking his head, he started to leave the room. Cream backed off and allowed him to leave, then followed closely behind, watching him carefully as he traversed downstairs to the main level of the bar.

Waiting at the bottom, much to Tails' dismay, was an angry Bark, who looked ready to begin the mission. Close by, there were three humans who looked to be about Bark's age, a chubby man, wearing a red baseball cap and overalls with a yellow shirt, a black haired, skinny man wearing a red headband and black clothes, and a red-headed woman wearing a white-grey headband, grey shirt and blue jeans .

Without saying anything to Tails, Bark turned to his teammates and nodded. "Ready to get this mission started?" he asked in a gruff manner. The three adults nodded. "Alright then, let's go blow up that reactor!" Bark yelled as the members of TORNADO left the bar and headed for the station.

Turing to Tails, he glared at him again, "Alright newbie, lets go." He commanded. Tails slowly nodded, looking frustrated and serious, and headed out.

Before leaving, Bark adjusted his Gun-Arm one last time. "Take care of everything here, OK Cream?" he ordered as he headed towards the saloon doors. "And," he added as his voice softened, "Take good care of Hope," his face softening and smiling as a little human girl with blonde hair wearing a sky blue dress appeared at Cream's side.

"I'll take good care of her," Cream said confidently, knowing that she was good with kids, especially little Hope. "You be careful out there Bark, good luck," she said.

"Good luck Daddy…" Hope added, sounding a bit sad.

And with that, Bark left to start the mission, not knowing that it was going to change his, and everyone's lives forever…

End Chapter

**A/N: **Well, theres the third chapter, hope you all enjoyed it. I couldn't think of any characters to fill the roles of Biggs, Wedge and Jessie, so I left them alone. Since they're human, I also wanted to show that Humans and Mobians can cooperate and that there are some humans that oppose the use of RINGTEK and Mako use, not just Mobians. This is a big part of the theme I want to present in this story. Also, tell me what you think of The Void? Should I continue it, or do something different? Anyways, please feel free to review and stay tuned for the next, heart-stopping chapter!


	4. Bombing Mission

**A/N:** YO EVERYBODY! Heheh, how's it going? Hope everyone's good. Well, it's what you've been all waiting for, the fourth chapter, which also signifies the beginning of the game! Today's chapter briefly introduces the character for Aeris/Aerith. If you've all watched Sonic X, then you probably know who it is! Oh, as well, Time Stamps have been introduced for this and the next chapter. I feel it shows a sense of time passage, and that it shows how much time is needed to get in and out of the reactor. Also, new enemies are introduced, which sets up the events for one of the themes of the story! Plus, more of Tails' personality is revealed! But that will only spell trouble later on! WOW! So many things happening! And just think, it's only the BEGINNING! So, get ready for Chapter 4! And read it from top to bottom, cuz there's more, more, MORE!

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter 1. I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own Robians. They belong to their respective companies.

Chapter 4: Bombing Mission

Sector 7 Station: 9:30pm M.S.T. (Megapolis Standard Time)

"This is the last train leaving for Sector 1," Bark explained to his team. "Not many people go on at this time, so it'll be cakewalk to hijack it and use it to get into the reactor."

The team then dispersed through the train, dispatching the small amount of MP's and Train personnel onboard. Bark then looked at a serious, emotionless Tails. Tails looked back at him through furrowed brows as he gave Bark a piercing stare.

'_I got a job from him, it doesn't mean that I'll like him,_' he thought as Bark furiously turned around and boarded the train. '_Once this jobs over, I'm outta here,_' he concluded as he jumped on the train last…

As the train continued its route towards Sector 1, Bark ordered Wedge and Tails to hide on the top of the cars on the train after knocking out the drivers, which Biggs and Jessie promptly disguised themselves as. Not much was left on it except for spare cargo heading towards the RINGTEK Mako Reactor.

Bark smiled as his plan went accordingly.'_Ha, good thing I picked up that tip that the Mako Reactor needed to replace some of its old parts, otherwise this operation might have been a bust… although many people and Mobians lost their lives tryin to get the security codes… may the Source have mercy on their souls,_' he reflected as the train sped onwards towards the Reactor.

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Somewhere in Sector 8: 9:50pm M.S.T.

From a broken pipe in an alleyway, silver-gold particles were emitting light and floating about as if they had a life of their own. Some of the particles almost screamed in pain and agony, though it was barely noticeable by normal ears. In front of the pipe was a mysterious green-haired Interbred. She wore a white blouse and a short, flowing dress that looked like large flower petals around her tiny waist, with a small green coat to accentuate the blouse, and earth-brown shoes. On her back was a retractable rod, stuck in between a loose brown belt she wore around her lower torso. Her hair was long and flowing, but was kept short by the two rose blossoms wrapped around her hair and placed on the top of her head, her bangs framing her face. A red oval brooch adorned the middle of her blouse, at which directly in the center of the jewel lay a small, pure white Emerald, shining softly in the red gem…

The young 22 year old continued to stare into the golden-silver sparks, almost like she heard and understood the pain and sadness that the stream felt, her light blue eyes shimmering with the sparks, trying to communicate and say 'It's alright, things will get better, I know it.'

Suddenly, she rose up, feeling a strange sense of dread, as though she had recently lost a loved one. Shaking her head and picking up her flower basket, she left the alley and was almost run over by a passing car, spewing dull yellowish-grey Mako exhaust fumes into the air. Not even noticing, she looked to the polluted, inky sky, sensing something was going to happen, something that will change her life, and everyone's lives, forever…

"Something's… going to happen soon…" She said softly.

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RINGTEK Mako Reactor #1: 10:00pm M.S.T.

The train pulled into the cargo station, readying its load to be removed and its task to be completed. Two bored looking MP's; a Wolf Interbred and a human, stood guard, wishing for something exciting to happen during their usual shifts.

They didn't know that their wish came true on this day.

At that moment, the man wearing a train uniform and a red headband, Biggs, jumped down and landed a hard blow on the first MP, rendering him unconscious. The second MP started to run towards Biggs, but was stopped by the red-head, Jessie, clothed in her usual attire, as she pulled a nasty side-kick to his jaw, knocking him out. The fat one, Wedge followed shortly, and all three of them traversed up the platform steps to carry out the operation after Biggs removed his disguise. From between one of the cars, Bark stepped out and motioned Tails to follow.

Feeling a little aggravated, Tails did a one-handed flip off the top of the train and landed in a kneeling position; which irritated Bark even more. Turning around angrily, Bark headed towards the platform before he stopped.

"Stop showing off and follow me," he ordered angrily, as he started his run again, dashing for the steps up to the reactor entrance, gun cocked and ready to fight.

Tails merely sighed and started towards the steps, when he was stopped by two MP's from behind.

"Surrender," the Human MP ordered as he cocked his rifle.

Tails simply smiled and turned around. "Great, you guys'll be perfect for a warm-up," he said, drawing his sword and stabbing the first MP in the gut with lightning speed. The other one circled around as Tails pulled out his giant blade out of the MP's stomach and started to rush him. Tails merely shrugged and whipped his tails with fearsome speed; knocking the tonfa out of the MP's hands, then sliced him in two.

"Thanks for the warm-up guys, it's been fun," he said to the now-dead guards as he sheathed his Buster Sword and proceeded up the steps.

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"How much longer is this gonna take, Jess?" Biggs asked from his post.

Jessie ignored him and continued to crack the security doors that prevented access into the reactor. Wedge looked around fearfully, hoping that security didn't raise the alarm yet. Suddenly, Tails appeared from the stairwell and preceded towards the security doors.

"Heey, if it isn't the newbie," Biggs exclaimed as Tails approached the doors. "You're from SOLDIER, aren't you? Never expect to see you workin' with TORNADO."

Tails shrugged; he didn't feel like socializing with the team.

"SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" Jessie asked, glaring at Tails.

'_Damn, what's with all the glares? It's like they think I'm gonna betray them or something…_' Tails thought as he ignored the glare Jessie gave him.

"Who cares, he quit them and now he's one of us," Biggs exclaimed, glancing at Tails and giving him a smile and a thumbs-up. "Didn't catch your name?"

"…I'm Tails," the orange, two-tailed fox replied quietly.

"Tails eh? I'm…" But before he could finish he was interrupted by Tails' piercing glare.

"I don't care what your names are, I just wanna get this job over with so I can get outta here," he said in a cold tone.

Biggs, getting the idea, shut his mouth and didn't say another word. While Jessie was continuing her work, Tails' ears perked up as he heard sounds of heavy footsteps several meters away.

'_Must be Bark, I bet he'll probably make the loudest noise of them all with that temper of his_' Tails thought. His thoughts were correct as Bark made his way towards the security doors, with a furious look on his face.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he yelled as everyone, except Tails, flinched. "I told you to never move in a group!" At that time, Jessie finished cracking the codes for the security doors and they started to open.

"Alright everyone, this is it," Bark explained, switching his focus towards the mission. "Were hittin' the RINGTEK Mako Reactor #1, make sure you guys don't get caught!"

The members of TORNADO proceeded through the door. As Bark entered the door, he turned around. "Ex-SOLDIER, huh? I don't trust you!" he snarled as he continued his way through towards the reactor.

Tails narrowed his eyes as Bark turned a corner, leaving his field of vision. He turned his head and stared at the reactor, putting his game face on, before he broke out into a run; heading into the reactor entrance.

At the reactor entrance, TORNADO split up, according to Bark's plan: Wedge kept going straight towards the emergency exit on the far side of the catwalk, while Biggs, Jessie and Bark proceeded into the reactor. Tails arrived to see the remaining members enter the reactor.

"They went inside," Wedge said from his post. "I'll wait here and keep this place secure while you and the others blow the hell outta that reactor!" Tails remained expressionless, as he nodded and continued into the reactor.

Once inside, Tails slowly made his way towards the first security door, where Bark was waiting. Bark turned around and aimed his gun towards Tails, thinking they were followed. Realizing they weren't, he lowered his gun slightly and ordered Biggs to enter the first batch of codes. While Biggs was working, Bark continued to glare at Tails.

"Is this your first time in a reactor?" he asked, keeping his eyes on Tails, waiting for him to make a sudden move.

Tails shrugged, keeping his face emotionless. "No, after all… I did work for Kintobor," he replied, running a hand through the fur on his head.

Bark narrowed his eyes and continued, as if Tails didn't mention that he used to work for the company. "Mako is the source of life for the planet, but Kintobor keeps sucking it up with these weird machines and converting the energy into RINGTEK…"

"Look I'm not here to be lectured, let's just get this over with," Tails interrupted, his voice harsh and face expressionless, staring hard at Bark.

"Shit! That's it, you're coming with me!" Bark yelled raising his gun-arm and aiming it for Tails. "Try anything, and I'll blow your brains out!" '_He can't dodge bullets at point-blank range… but Cream said not to hurt him, damnit…_' he thought.

Tails narrowed his eyes and slowly grabbed his hilt. '_I'm not gonna take anymore of this from that ass of a leader!_' he thought to himself.

But just before the fighting began, Biggs cracked the codes and the security doors opened. "Code deciphered," he said triumphantly, not even realizing that Bark and Tails were going to go at each other and that Jessie was pale-faced and scared that the two may have alerted the entire Kintobor military with their antics. Bark broke his gaze from Tails and lowered his gun.

"Jessie, you enter the next batch of codes, Biggs here is just too damn slow," he ordered.

Without hesitation, she entered in the next security code with rapid speed. It took less than 2 minutes for her to crack the codes and continue onward with Bark and Tails. Biggs stayed behind; his post being the RINGTEK manufacturing area after the second door. The trio entered the elevator and Tails pushed the switch.

As the elevator went down, Bark decided he'd give Tails one more chance to understand. "Sooner or later, the reactors will suck out ALL the life on the planet and then, it's the end of us, both Mobian AND Human," he explained, trying to get Tails to understand the seriousness of the situation.

Tails merely shrugged again and shook his head. "Look, all I want to do is to get this job done before security and the Robians come," he muttered.

Bark's eyes widened as he started to shake in fury. He calmed himself down shortly after; '_Keep it calm... It's no use completing a mission when you're angry, that gets you killed..._' he thought to himself as the elevator continued further down.

"Tails, what ARE Robians?" Jessie asked suddenly, after a brief silence.

Tails closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember what they were. He saw a white flash, followed by a sinister laugh that echoed in his mind's eye. He opened his eyes and turned them towards Jessie.

"Robians are roboticized Mobians. They're bi-products of Kintobor's research of prosthetics and bionic limbs. Basically, Kintobor Inc. recently developed a way to replace amputated limbs by creating and fusing metal parts with organic flesh, very useful after the Great War. It was called a scientific breakthrough, until President Kintobor secretly altered the mechanics to transform the entire body into a machine. He then decided to make entire armies of Robians, tossing Mobians into his roboticizer and creating deadly weapons with no free will," Tails explained.

"They say that Kintobor is one of the biggest racists ever," Bark said. "I heard that he once rounded up a hundred Mobians and roboticized them on the spot, just because one little mole kid scuffed his shoe."

"Then why doesn't Kintobor just roboticize all Mobians in Megapolis?" Jessie asked again.

"Because he doesn't want to cause a public uproar, since there are a lot of people in the city who respect Mobians and treat us like equals, that's also the reason why Mobians work at Kintobor as lower level executives or soldiers and officers in its armies, as well as members of SOLDIER too." Tails answered.

Suddenly the elevator stopped and the door opened, ending the talk. Bark raised his gun and checked the surrounding area. Seeing that it was clear, he signaled the other two to move.

As they were moving through the reactor, Tails' ears perked slightly, sensing metal skittering on metal. '_We're being followed by something…_' he thought as the trio descended further down the reactor.

As they entered the top of the reactor heart and climbed down several ladders, Jessie stopped on one of the beams.

"Here's my post, it's up to you guys now, Good…" but before Jessie could finish her sentence, a mechanical squirrel ambushed the three and headed straight for Jessie.

Anticipating this, Tails drew his sword and cut the Robian in two, almost cutting Jessie in the process; the tip of the blade stopping just centimeters from the bridge of Jessie's nose.

"Sorry about that," he said as he sheathed his sword. "I needed him to get close enough to destroy." Jessie's eyes were wide and let out a delayed gasp; realizing that if it wasn't for Tails, she'd be a goner.

"Thanks…" she said with a small blush.

Tails nodded and turned to Bark, who was impressed at Tails' swordsmanship, even though he didn't show it.

"What the hell was that?" he asked Tails as they continued to the bottom level of the reactor.

"That would be a Robian Bark," Tails replied, eyes scanning forward to see if any danger loomed ahead.

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Tails and Bark walked up the catwalk towards the heart of the reactor; below was a sea of silver-gold Mako ready to be processed, when something caught Tails' eye; a small, green gem emanating a soft light.

'_An Emerald…_' he thought as he reached down for it. But before he could pick it up, Bark snatched it away from his reach and ushered Tails towards the reactor heart.

"You set the bomb," Bark ordered.

"Why me?" Tails asked

"Because I'm gonna keep an eye on you so that you don't pull any stupid stunts, now move it!" he yelled.

"Shit man fine, be my guest…" Tails remarked sarcastically.

As he bent down however, Tails stood straight up, eyes rolling into his head, mouth open. The mysterious voices he heard a few nights ago suddenly returned, as he heard a loud buzz go through his head.

/**Watch out! **/Mysterious voice 1 shouted.

/_**This isn't an ordinary reactor!**_ / Mysterious voice 2 yelled.

'_What?_' Tails thought as he slowly returned to reality.

"…ls. Tails. TAILS!" Bark hollered as Tails regained his senses.

"What man?" he asked.

"What the hell are you doin' Tails, set the bomb!" he bellowed.

CLICK! Beep. BEEEEEEEP! "60 Minutes To Self-Destruct."

"Done," Tails said, a small smile forming on his lips, convinced the job was over, until the alarms sounded.

"SHIT! Here they come!" Bark yelled as the rails of the reactor walkway lowered and two giant plates connected to the walkway, transforming the area into a platform. Then, a giant roboticized Scorpion rushed towards them, its mechanical eyes looming around, searching for its first victim…

End Chapter

**A/N:** Cliffhanger! Uh-Oh?! What do you think's gonna happen? Only the next chapter will tell! And just for you, my readers, a preview for it!

Chapter 5 Preview:

Tails and Bark take on the Giant Scorpion using the power of teamwork! ...Despite it being a forced teamwork... Then, there's hardly time to get out! But wait! Tails has a trick up his... tail? Find out what happens next time!

Ah, there. Now everyone, to the serious business. I kept Tails' love for machines to add flavor to the story. Just having him as a Cloud clone wouldn't do any good, so allowing him to be both the mech wiz and the bad boy makes things interesting, in my opinion. However his machine loving personality will clash with his bad boy personality... and if you've played the game, you know what happens!

Robians were introduced as a main element of the story first, actual enemies second. However, unlike the original SATAM, these guys cannot regain their free will... or can they? wink wink nudge nudge You'll see how they fit into the puzzle later...

Interbreds are sligthly mentioned in this chatpter, they're more explained in the next, so don't worry.

Thanks again to Blue Mage Quartet for reviewing! Hope this lives up to your standards dude!

As well, due to my exams coming up in a week or so (I'm taking courses in the summer, and classes end this week), I wasn't able to get the ninth chapter done, and I probably won't have them done till after the Canadian long weekend. (Canada Day!) Even so, I decided to post up the fourth chapter cuz I was feeling a bit down... Lately, I've been confused about some things in life, but I won't let it affect my writing! To me, your responses mean everything! They give me the strength and confidence I need to keep this story going! Speaking of which, Anonymous reviews are now accepted, so drop a line and tell me what you think of the story thus far. Anyways, see you next chapter!


	5. Flee From the Scene!

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait everyone! Here's chapter 5! I made sure that for the first boss battle, I'd spice it up and make it more exciting than just, "he slashed, he shot, The scorpion attacked..." etc. etc. etc. I hope you all like it. I just recently got a job, AND I'm gettin paid tomorro, so things are going well!. I'm almost done Chapter 9, it's lookin to be a like a long one so be prepared for that when I'm ready to submit it! Ok, enough about me, lets get to the action! So here's chapter 5, comin' atcha LIVE!

Musical Inspiration: Smack My Bitch Up- Prodigy

Chapter 5: Flee From the Scene!

RINGTEK Mako Reactor #1: 11:00 PM M.S.T.

The giant Robian, known as the Guard Scorpion, was the last of its race of Giant Scorpions, until its capture and experimental roboticization by the hands of Gerald Kintobor, President of Kintobor Inc. Now it serves as an eternal mechanical guardian for the Reactor No. 1. Its mechanical appendages rumbled on the thick metal plates that created its battle platform, as it traveled towards its opponents. When it reached its destination, a yellow light emitted from its eyes, scanning for its first target.

"Watch out, it's scanning for a target!" Tails exclaimed as he managed to move swiftly away from the search scope but Bark however was unfortunate; getting his foot caught in the light as he was running away from it. The light from the Scorpion's eyes dissipated and it raised its claw-like arms, aiming for Bark.

The clawed appendages opened up, revealing two large machine-gun rifles, and opened fire. Bark turned around and his eyes widened, fearing that his life was going to be over, until a blur of orange-white, dark blue and silver-gray appeared before him.

It was Tails, who rushed in front of Bark, sword in a defensive position, blocking the short spray of bullets that were originally aimed for Bark. The shots stopped, and the rifles re-entered the claw appendages to reload.

Taking this opportunity, Tails put his sword into his attacking stance, and turned to Bark, who was slightly shocked that Tails saved his life.

"I got a plan!" Tails began as the Scorpion's search scope picked up his signature. "When I give the signal, you fire at one of its front legs, got it?!"

As Tails started to run towards the Scorpion, Bark regained his senses. "What the hell's the signal," he hollered as the Scorpion turned itself around and used its sharp tail to lash out at Tails.

"You'll see it in a bit!" he shouted back as he avoided the swinging tail.

The scorpion then thrusted its tail towards the kitsune at a blinding speed. The tail lightly scraped Tails' shoulder as he leaped out of the way, and started to concentrate hard on his first attack. The small, green Emerald on Tails' sword started to shine brightly and his right hand started to glow with a bluish aura. Tails stood straight up, swung his sword once and placed it on his back. Cold, blue energy started to form on both hands as he placed them in front of his chest, and stared hard at the leg of the mechanical beast.

Tails then shot his hands in front of him, palms aiming for the leg and he called out, "ICE!"

The blue energy rushed out of his palms, towards the target and impacted, freezing the leg joint slightly.

Bark, getting the idea, took this as the signal and started to fire on the spot where the ice froze; the critical joint on one of the legs of the Scorpion. Several rounds of bullets tore through the frozen joint until they passed through the leg itself.

Tails then rushed up to the leg, pulling out his sword once more and slashed the joint, milliseconds after Bark emptied his first load of bullets. The joint finally gave way and the leg was separated from the body and the scorpion began to lose its balance. Tails then jumped back towards Bark, sheathing his sword once more as yellow energy was forming in his palms.

"BOLT!" Tails cried as he released the energy, which turned into thin lightning bolts aimed for the area on the body of the Scorpion where the leg was separated.

The lightning bolts shot into the now destroyed leg joint of the Scorpion and short-circuited its systems. The Scorpion shut down and crashed on the platform and the two fighters gave a sigh of relief, until the Robian giant reactivated on auxiliary power and compensated for its lost leg. It rose up and started to shake violently as its tail rose over its head, the tip aiming for both Tails and Bark. Sensing this, Tails turned around, sword drawn and Bark finished reloading his gun and was prepared to open fire on the bot, when Tails stopped him suddenly.

"Don't shoot it!" he said, "It's gonna counterattack with its laser if you do!"

"I don't listen to no Ex-SOLDIER!" Bark yelled as he opened fire on the giant Robian.

As soon as the first bullet hit it, the Robian started to shudder violently as the tip of the tail opened up to reveal a cannon. The laser cannon charged slightly and fired at the two; crashing into the ground and sending chunks of metallic debris towards them. Bark was hit by one of these chunks and was knocked unconscious.

Tails saw this as the Scorpion relaxed and went into its normal mode, and something in him snapped. His hands and sword started to glow with a bright green aura; far different from the aura produced by using Emeralds. His bright blue eyes flashed even brighter as an adrenaline rush surged through him. The two tails behind him started to move slowly. Then faster. Then fast enough so that they were spinning. His body started to lift off from the ground as his tails started to spin like helicopter blades and he started to head towards his opponent. The Scorpion locked onto Tails, who was flying towards him using his two tails, and it opened up its claws, readying its rifles to fire on Tails. But before it could, Tails twisted his lower body so that his tails spun from below instead of above and he launched vertically into the air with incredible speed just before the Scorpion opened fire on him.

High into the air, Tails stopped spinning his tails, and hovered for a moment in zero-G. The Scorpion looked directly up, reactivating its sensors to detect Tails' signature. Placing the sword behind him, as though he was going to cleave something, Tails started to free-fall towards the Scorpion, weapon blazing with ethereal-green energy. The Scorpion raised its rifle claws, drawing out the rifles, and aimed it at Tails, robotic eyes narrowing.

"Subject Termination Imminent," it said in its metallic, monotone voice.

But before it could fire a single bullet, Tails let out a mighty roar, swinging the Buster vertically as he neared the Robian and struck it head on, finally landing in a crouched position. With a dangerous look in his eyes, Tails rose up and started to walk towards Bark… as the after-effect of his attack took place, cleanly cutting the Scorpion in half vertically. Both halves toppled to the ground with a crash as Tails stopped in front of Bark, faced the now-destroyed robot and did his victory pose; pumping his sword in the air twice and spinning it, finally placing it on his back and doing his trademark pose.

"Looks like its game over for you, Robian," Tails remarked to the destroyed robot as he turned to see Bark recovering.

Bark took out a vial of blue liquid out of his jacket. Breaking the top, he downed the potion and his wounds started healing faster. "Wow, now THAT was impressive," Bark said, not hiding the awe from his voice. "What did you do to the guy?"

"I eviscerated him, what else?" Tails said. "I'll explain how AFTER we get out," he finished before Bark could ask.

Suddenly Bark's eyes grew wide. "How long ago did you set the timer for the bomb?" he asked Tails.

Thinking hard, Tails replied. "Less than an hour ago, I dunno?" he said honestly.

"… Shit, then we probably got roughly 15 or 20 minutes to get the hell outta here then…" Bark exclaimed with a look of fear on his face as he turned towards Tails.

"10 Minutes To Self-Destruct," the bomb computer said monotonically.

"…SHIT!" They both yelled.

While panicking for their lives, Tails had an idea. "Grab onto my arm, I'm gonna try something," he called to Bark. '_Oh Source,_ _I hope this works,_' Tails added in his head as Bark approached him.

Utterly confused as to what Tails was doing, he grabbed onto his left arm. All of a sudden, he felt his feet lift off the ground. Surprised, Bark looked towards Tails for an explanation, until he saw the twin tails spinning; propelling them upwards towards Jessie's location.

'_Ah I get it now,_' Bark thought as Tails hurriedly flew upwards, '_Those twin tails allow him to fly! Must be some weird SOLDIER thing…_'

When Tails and Bark reached the higher levels of the reactor, they heard someone grunting. Landing, Tails and Bark rushed to the sound, to find Jessie, with her leg trapped in one of the girders.

"Hold on!" Bark yelled as Tails pulled her out.

"Thanks," Jessie mumbled, blushing slightly.

"OK you moron, now what?" Bark hollered impatiently.

Tails stuck out both of his arms. "Grab on," he said to both.

Jessie took the left hand while Bark took the right. Putting all his effort into flying, Tails started to rise up again, and flew towards the elevator leading to the security doors. "Hurry and press the button!" Bark ordered. "We got less than 5 minutes!"

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Biggs hid in his hiding place, on the constant look out for his teammates as the alarm blared out forcefully. Soon enough, the elevator stopped on Biggs' floor and the doors opened, revealing Tails, Bark and Jessie. Heaving a sigh of relief, Biggs smiled at the three.

"Alright! Now let's get the hell outta here!" he yelled as Jessie hammered away at the console, furiously pounding in security codes.

"Code deciphered," she announced as the doors opened up.

Biggs ran ahead and entered the next batch of codes, while Tails and Bark fought off hordes of MP's and Robians that flooded out of the elevator.

"Biggs! Hurry your slow ass and open that door! We only have 3 minutes to get outta here!" Bark yelled as he kept shooting MP's down, while Tails was beside him, hacking and cleaving away Robians with his massive sword.

Biggs' fingers worked fast as he punched in his codes, until he heard the satisfying ding, and announced proudly, "Code deciphered."

"Alright everyone! MOVE OUT!" Bark ordered as the four made a hasty retreat to where Wedge remained.

Seeing his team running out of the reactor, Wedge opened the emergency exit. Biggs was in first, followed by Wedge. Bark put forth a burst of speed and sped past Tails and Jessie, accidentally knocking her down in the process. Tails stopped and helped Jessie up before they both made their escape as the bomb exploded… destroying the first reactor… and initiating the first chain of events that would hopefully bring Kintobor Inc. down for good.

End Chapter

**A/N: **Well there ya go! Another chapter in the series. Man, doing this just gets me so excited! I got so many ideas in my head... but not enough time to put them down on paper! And now, heres a preview for Chapter 6!

Chapter 6 Preview:

Tails and the others get away safely, but now must meet on the train. On the way, Tails is met by a beautiful Interbred stranger and it is here where everything gets started! Then, Tails shows off his technical prowess to a surprised Jessie, and Bark explains how Mobians underneath suffer! Stay Tuned!

Remember to drop a line! I always enjoy the fact that some people review and like my story. Thanks to reviewers Blue Mage Quartet, Insolent (Thx for the tip for Chapter 1), matn90 and anonymous reviewer, Levi. Enjoy today's installment!


	6. Mysterious Encounter: Return to Sector 7

**A/N:** HEY! Sorry for the really late update guys. This fic is NOT DEAD! Just really delayed right now... Just had a lot of problems at home and stuff. Nothing to really worry about yet. So, did everyone like the last chapter? I hope you did, cuz things are gonna go full speed from here! Here is where Cosmo is introduced fully to Tails. I also tried to add a little humor into this chapter, despite it's dark atmosphere. I hope it works out. Anyways, Enjoy Chapter Six, and get your friends to read it for kicks:D

Chapter 6: Mysterious Encounter- Return to Sector 7

Outside RINGTEK Mako Reactor #1: 12:00am M.S.T.

Backs to the destroyed RINGTEK reactor, TORNADO took the opportunity to rest; however the mood in the cramped remains of the tunnel leading out to Sector 8 was not cheerful and celebratory, but grim and tense. Bark watched on as Jessie planted a weaker version of the reactor bomb; used to clear out the rubble blocking the way out.

"I guess this means that Mobius will live on for a while longer, eh?" Biggs said, ending the tense silence.

Bark, still reflecting on the aftermath of the attack, only replied with a grunt.

Jessie then rose from the ground, brushing dust off her pants. "Ok everyone, now stand back!" she cried as the others followed her towards the far end of the tunnel…

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The firebomb exploded with powerful force, opening the way to Sector 8. Tails somersaulted out of the tunnel first, avoiding the fire, followed by Bark, Jessie and Biggs. Wedge was last to emerge, patting his round behind to put out the small flames forming on his overalls.

"Ok everyone," Bark began as the team huddled around him, "We may have destroyed the reactor, but the mission isn't finished until we reach the hideout," he explained. "We'll rendezvous at the Sector 8 Station, split up and get on the 12:13 train."

Silently nodding, the three humans disembarked towards their destination; each person taking a different route. As Bark started to move towards a stairwell leading towards the main city-like area of Sector 8, he was cut-off by Tails.

"H, hey, what about my-," he started out, until Bark turned around to meet his gaze.

"If it's about the money, save it for later," he said quietly. "Now get to the train," Turning back around, he ran up the stairs and proceeded onwards, disappearing around a corner.

Shaking his head, Tails ran up the same stairwell and turned at a different corner. '_Not the answer I was expecting… I guess I'll wait 'til we get back to the hideout…_' he thought as he calmly walked through the damaged Sector; trying to act as if he wasn't the perpetrator of the carnage before him. As he passed through broken and tipped over cars, he saw a young Mobian female, who looked slightly… different from the rest; Mobian, judging from the green hair and short height… but slightly human-looking in her appearance, to Tails at least.

'_Hmm… is she… an Interbred?_' Tails thought as he eyed her carefully. Interbreds were considered to be traitors to both humans and Mobians, where both were striving for racial purity. Some Interbreds found that living in Megapolis was less harsh than living in the Western Continent, or the South Archipeligo. But in the large, continent-like island of Mobliz, they were treated like garbage. '_If she is, it looks like she was born here… otherwise she'd have a more pained-looking expression,_' Tails thought again as he started to walk towards her.

A man rudely bumped into her, yelling racial comments towards her as he ran away from the area and left her on the ground. Sighing exasperatedly, she picked herself up, and brushed her white petal-like dress free of dust, adjusting the flower basket in her hands before starting to walk away, until Tails crossed her path.

"Hello there," she said politely.

Tails' eyes relaxed slightly as he assumed his usual pose and nodded. Silence ensued until the young flower girl decided to speak up.

"Do you know what happened here? I was just on this street, selling flowers when an explosion rocked the entire Sector… Then the lights cut off and… well you know what happened," she murmured.

Tails felt something jolt his mind, almost like an extremely faded, but unforgotten memory, like the voice was familiar or something… he couldn't quite place it… but hearing her voice made him start talking to the girl. "Nothing, I don't really know," Tails lied, and then changed the subject. "I don't see many flowers growing around here," he finished, staring at the basket.

The girl, realizing he was staring at the flowers and not the large, shining red brooch or her cleavage, simply widened her eyes with surprise. '_He reminds me of…_' she began thinking but then shook her head lightly, the blossoms in her hair swaying lightly. "Oh these?" she asked as she pointed to the basket. "They're only one Mobium. Would you like one?" she asked.

Tails merely nodded, and pulled two Mobium out of his back pocket. Handing it to her, the girl gave him 2 yellow flowers, which he placed into his pocket gently.

"Thank you," she bowed as she left disappearing around another corner.

'_Wait a minute… I didn't even ask her name…_' Tails thought. '_Better get to the train now before it leaves me_' he reminded himself, breaking into a run and heading towards the station.

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Walking through the Sector 8 Square, Tails found himself near the railways. '_The station must be close…_' he thought as he walked down the empty street, when out of nowhere a voice was heard.

"HEY! What are you doing here?!" Tails stopped in his tracks and spun around, his namesakes rising, as if anticipating a fight. Two blue-suited soldiers appeared from an alleyway close to where Tails entered the area in.

"Kintobor soldiers…" Tails said under his breath. He waited until the soldiers were close enough, lowering his tails. As soon as they got in range, he lashed out at them with his namesakes, catching them by surprise. Then he drew his sword, spun around and slashed horizontally, cutting the soldiers in two. The sounds of the two MP's dying alerted others in the area; they rushed out and started to swarm Tails.

He slew six more MP's until he was trapped and surrounded on a bridge.

"Ok, that's as far as you go. We know you were part of that explosion that occurred just now!" One of the MP's, a Dog Mobian, said.

'_Heh, that guy must've been brainwashed or something to work for Kintobor…_' Tails thought to himself as the group closed in.

As the group came closer to Tails, a train whistle blew out. Below him, a train was emerging from the tunnel. Turning his attention to the soldiers, Tails smirked. "I don't have time to deal with you losers right now," he said, slowly backing towards the railing on the bridge.

"Enough talk! GRAB HIM!" The soldier yelled, and the others tried to rush him. But Tails was two steps ahead; jumping onto the railing of the bridge and jumping off the bridge, landing on the train. Ducking so that he wouldn't catch his head on the central complex tunnel, Tails started to crawl towards the end of the train, when he heard voices from below…

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Inside the train, TORNADO was returning to their base, their mission complete. Except that everyone was grim-faced and worried about the twin-tailed, giant-sword-wielding orange fox. Wedge couldn't stop fidgeting. Biggs kept shifting in his spot and looking side to side. Bark was quiet and sullen-faced. And Jessie felt the worst; he saved her life and she didn't get the chance to say thanks… The silence continued until Biggs spoke up.

"Do you think… Tails is gonna keep fighting for TORNADO?" he asked Bark.

"I don't know! What do you think I am, a mind reader?" He lashed out towards his teammate.

Biggs looking downright scared shut his trap and kept looking around.

"Tails… I wonder if he got killed?" Wedge asked.

Bark lashed out again, somewhat surprised that his team had little confidence for the Ex-SOLDIER. "No way! That guy's way too strong to get himself killed like that!" he yelled.

Silence once more ensued for a while, until Jessie raised her head and spoke out for the first time since entering the train. "Tails, I hope he's ok…" She said aloud.

Bark didn't have anything to say on that; he kept silent and somewhere in his head, wondered about that too…

"Hey Bark, what about our money?" Biggs asked the leader.

Eyes widening, Bark slammed his Gun-Arm onto a nearby crate, making a large thud, realizing he forgot an important thing. "Uh… sorry fellas nothing on me…" he said sheepishly.

A small "Ah-hah…" was heard from outside, but nobody seemed to mind however…

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Tails realizing that it was TORNADO underneath him, searched for a way into the car. Slipping down the side of the moving train, he started to force the door on the side open using his tails. After a few tries, he managed to get it open and flipped himself inside the car, effectively scaring everyone inside.

"Tails!" they all exclaimed.

"Looks like I'm a little late," Tails said, brushing himself, and his name-sakes, off after the whole ordeal.

Biggs and Wedge looked astonished.

Jessie was about to cry a little bit.

Bark, however, was just furious.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he yelled out. "Damn right you're late, and you come in and make a big scene of it all! DAMNIT! YOU WISE-ASS!"

Tails blinked, mildly amused, when he smiled slightly. "Really now? So I guess that means you were worried about me!" he exclaimed, smirking.

Bark's eyes were nearly popping out of his skull with rage and if it could happen, steam would be pouring out of his ears about now. '_Who the hell does this fox think he is?! What in the Source is he?_' he thought to himself. "Shit man, that's coming out of your paycheck!" he retorted as he moved towards the front of the car. "Hey, everyone get up and follow me, we're going into the passenger cars." he said and motioned everyone to come.

"Wow Tails, you were awesome back there!" Wedge whispered as he passed by and went into the next car.

"Hah, hey Tails? Next time we'll do even better!" said Biggs, a large grin plastering his face.

Jessie got up and shut the door that Tails entered through. "Here, let me shut this," she said as she closed the door. She turned towards him and her eyes widened, a smile slowly forming. Tails' face was covered in black dust. "Hey, your fur is covered in dust hon, let me clean you up a bit," she started.

Tails rose his hands up and protested. "Nah, don't worry I can handle it, but thanks for the offer," he simply said.

"Oh, ok then Tails… Anyway, thanks for saving me back there," Jessie called back as she headed towards the door.

Cleaning himself off and shrugging, Tails went into the next car.

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Checking to see if the car was clean of soldiers, TORNADO ventured towards the front of the car. The car was nearly empty, save for the odd hobo or two. Bark waltzed in and took a seat, relaxed and tipped his hat to cover his eyes. The others went to the front to check monitors and verify their ID's.

"Attention, the last train to Sector 7 is due to arrive at approximately 12:23 M.S.T." the intercom buzzed.

Tails walked towards Jessie, who was staring at the monitor. Turning around, Jessie eyed Tails.

"Hey, you wanna take a look at this map of the rail system? Lets look at it together." She said. Tails nodded and moved closer to her to see. "Y'know, I love this stuff, "she said to Tails. "Bombs, monitors, you know flashy stuff. OK, it's starting."

The monitor brought up an image of Megapolis. "This is a model of Megapolis, its about 1/10000 scale. The main upper plate is suspended about 50 feet in the air and is supported by the main central complex structure, followed by 8 support structures. The city is powered by 8 RINGTEK Mako reactors, which generate RINGTEK rings; energy rings that power the city." She paused and whispered in Tails' ear. "The one we destroyed was the No. 1 Reactor, by the way," She turned and continued her explanation at normal volume. "Each plate of the city had a name, but nowadays we refer to them as sectors, because no one remembers the names… Anyway, here look at this!" she exclaimed and brought up a blown up image of the city and the central complex.

Tails' eyes lit up and he started to speak, "We started at the Sector 8 station, then we entered the central complex tunnel, in which we spiral around the center, until we hit a junction that leads towards the Sector 7 Slum station. In between, there is a security checkpoint that checks the ID's of all passengers and personnel on board," he said without hesitation.

Jessie looked at him with awe. "How did you know that? I was gonna tell you that myself you know?" she said, a little disappointed.

"Well," Tails whispered in her ear, "Don't tell anyone this, but as a kid, I loved machines. I just didn't remember most of this stuff until you mentioned it and I learned this when I was younger…" he said.

"Oh," was her only reply, until her head rose up suddenly, as if she had an idea. "Well I got an idea! How about I make a custom ID for ya?" she asked, when suddenly, out of the blue, red lights started to shine into the car. "Well speak of the devil, we're in the ID checkpoint security," she said.

Coming closer to Tails, she whispered in his ear, "When this happens, you'll never know what kind of creeps'll come out, but anyway were almost back." She turned around and looked at the monitor, when Tails tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'll take up that offer for the ID," he said.

Jessie's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Yea ok Tails, I'll make one for you!" she said excitedly and turned back to the monitor, a look of glee on her face.

Content at making her happy, Tails walked back towards Bark. Bark raised his cap and looked out of the window.

"Hey look," he said to Tails, "You can see the surface now."

Tails walked towards the window and looked out and up, and saw the giant suspended city above him. "A floating city," he said, "Pretty unsettling scenery if you ask me."

Bark put his cap back on and looked at the fox with interest. "I would never expect you to say something like that," he exclaimed. "You're just full of surprises…" Bark stood up and looked out the same window that Tails looked through. "The upper world… a city on a plate," he spoke softly to Tails in a serious tone. He then stopped looking, a look of anger on his features. "It's because of that damn &in 'Pizza' that people and Mobians underneath are suffering!" He shouted out, and then he spoke softly. "And the air below, is putrid beyond all belief." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

Tails looked towards him. '_Man, I never thought Bark would act so passionately about this… he must REALLY like his job…_' he thought. "Then, why doesn't everyone move onto the plate?" Tails asked.

Bark looked to him calmly and said, "Maybe because they have no money, or maybe… because Kintobor prefers humans on the plate than Mobians, and won't let many on the plate at all. Thats why the majority of Mobians live in the slums, you know?"

Tails looked out of the window again. "I know, people and Mobians don't live here because they want to, it's like this train… it can't go anywhere except where its rails take it."

Barks eyes widened as he looked at Tails, completely surprised at what Tails said. '_Shoot… now THAT'S deep… I should remember that…_' he thought as the train spiraled downward and through the junction, finally stopping at the Sector 7 Slums.

The train doors swished open as its occupants exited. Among them were the members of TORNADO, each one exiting one at a time, checking the surrounding for any Kintobor soldiers. Bark and Tails exited the train last and made their way off the platform.

"Everyone! Over here!" Bark yelled out to his teammates. The members huddled up, Tails being the last to enter the huddle. "The mission was a success," Bark started, looking at all his team mates, and Tails. "But I don't want to hear how scared you all were about that explosion… Cause the next one's gonna be bigger!" He then broke out of the huddle, and started walking towards Cream's bar.

"Meet back at the hideout," he said before walking off. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie ran off after their leader, leaving Tails to walk back…

End Chapter

**A/N: **So what do you think? Please leave comments, and stay tuned for the next chapter. Speaking of which, here's the preview!

Chapter 7 Preview:

With the mission complete, Tails hopes to receive his pay. But will he stick around for the next job? Or will Bark's coarseness force him to leave? Not on Cream's watch that's for sure! Promises are revisited and payments are recieved in the next exciting chapter!

Thanks once again goes to Blue Mage for reviewing! Hope you're not mad for the late update dude! Enjoy everyone!


	7. A Promise Revisited, A Payment Received

**A/N:** S'up dudes! Zonic back again for another dramatic chapter! Just to let you know, Mobius is gonna shape up to sound kinda like the world in FFVII, with the exception of a few city name changes and stuff. Ahhh... the classic bar scene. I really like how this turned out. I wanna also thank my lil bro for being my beta reader up to now. He's the greatest, albeit completly annoying at times XD. (Once again, he has provided me with a good idea). Now everyone, I present to you Chapter 7 of Mobius VII! Enjoy! It's like Heaven!

Chapter 7: A Promise Revisited, A Payment Received

"Papa Bear!"

The little girl shot out from behind the counter, arms spread wide and eyes shut in mirth as she rushed towards the bar entrance and hugged the figure standing there tightly. However, the girl noticed something. '_Hey, his fur isn't all poofy, and he's thin… Uh-oh…_' she thought as she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head to see who she hugged.

It was a slightly surprised Tails staring back at her with his glowing Mako eyes.

The little girl's eyes widened as she quickly released him, tears welling in her eyes. She mumbled an "I'm sorry," and quickly ran away to the kitchen, sobbing. Seconds later, a beautiful rabbit girl hopped over the counter and dashed to the kitchen, worry adorning her features.

Cream walked up to Hope and placed her gently hands on the little girl's tiny shoulders. "Hey, hey, don't cry Hope, your dad's outside, he'll be in shortly honey," she cooed to the crying girl. "Besides," she added, "Don't you want to meet my best friend Tails?" she whispered with a wink.

Slowly, the girl's sobs quieted, and she nodded faintly. Beaming, Cream took the little girl by her hand and they walked back to where Tails was standing. "Welcome back Tails," she said smiling softly. Hope fidgeted, blushing with embarrassment. "I trust that the mission was successful?" Cream said as she looked over her friend's body with concern.

Small cuts and bruises littered his body, and there was a deep looking gash on his left shoulder, but he looked like he didn't care. '_Good, nothing TOTALLY life-threatening…_' she thought.

"Piece of cake," Tails said confidently. "I could've done it with my eyes closed."

Cream rolled her eyes. "So did you and Bark fight again?" she asked.

Tails looked downward to the floor. "Yea… we kinda did," he answered.

Sighing softly, Cream shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said softly. "Bark's always pushing everyone around and you've been picking fights since we were little." She paused, looking at him, "I was worried."

"Don't be, I'm here, and I'm alive, right?" Tails said smirking slightly.

"Yea, you're right… Hey, what's that in your pocket?" Cream asked and pointed to the leafy bits poking out of his pocket.

"Oh these?" Tails said, pulling the items out. "Well, I bought them, what else?"

"Flowers?" she questioned and thought. '_Could he have gotten those for…? Naaaah no way,_' she thought dejectedly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a flower was presented to her face. "Hey, it's no big," Tails said. "For you," and he gave the flower to Cream.

Eyes widening and lips in a great big smile, she took the yellow flower from his hands and placed it in an unused cup, filling it with water. "Thank you Tails!" she exclaimed happily. "You know, I should fill this entire bar with flowers," she spoke, imagining what the bar would look like with more flowers. Turning around from the bar counter, she saw Tails kneeling down in front of Hope.

"Hey, Hope right?" Tails started out, his ear twitching slightly. He wasn't a pro when it came to children, but he would try nevertheless. "This is for you, don't worry I'm not mad at you, I was just startled that's all. My name's Tails, it's... nice to meet you," he said as he gave the yellow flower to the little girl.

Slowly, Hope took the flower from Tails' hands and clutched it to her chest. "Umm… Thank you Tails, it's very nice to meet you too." She said quietly.

Tails' face softened a bit and then rose and wandered around the bar towards Cream.

"Hehe, sorry Tails," she giggled, "Hope's just a little shy that's all."

Shrugging Tails wandered around, listening to the three humans at a table, drinking and chatting away about the mission. Biggs was downing shot after shot, Jessie was enjoying her light cocktail and Wedge was pigging out on the home cooked meals made by Cream. Other people and Mobians were talking and drinking, chatting either loudly or softly, when the saloon doors busted open. Cream knew what was going to happen next, rushing for Hope and turning her away from the sight, she covered the girl's ears.

Instantly, gunshots fired out into the ceiling and everybody, excluding Tails, Cream, TORNADO and Hope, swarmed out of the bar fearfully, yelling or cursing on the way out. The gunshots ceased and the gunner looked around the bar. Brushing the dust from his yellow-white fur and adjusting his cap, Bark turned to Tails, who was completely perplexed as to what just happened.

Bark looked at him. "That usually means that it's closing time," he explained as he walked towards the center of the bar. Hope squirmed and broke free from Cream's grasp and ran to her adoptive father.

"Papa Bear!" she shouted as she leapt up onto the bear and gave him a hug.

"Haha, hey Hope," Bark said softly. "I missed you too my little cub," he said, placing her on top of his left shoulder. Smiling, she showed him the flower. "A flower? Where did you get that from?" Bark questioned the little girl.

"Tails…" she uttered meekly, her face turning bright pink. Eyes widening, Bark look to the fox, then back to Hope. "Did you say thank you?" he asked.

Hope nodded and smiled. Bark then also smiled, '_Heh, Hope seems to trust him, maybe… maybe I shouldn't be SO hard on the guy…_' he thought.

Cream's voice interrupted Bark's thoughts as he turned his head towards her. "How did the mission go?" she asked.

He nodded, "Mission completed," he said, smirking. Cream gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded in understanding. Turning to the members of his team, he called out. "C'mon you lot, we're starting the meeting." And he went towards the pinball machine, with Hope on his shoulder, pushing the two flipper buttons and pulling the plunger and descended down to the basement; the Lair of TORNADO. The three humans leapt down the opening, and the pinball machine rose upwards, leaving Tails and Cream in the bar.

Cream went behind the counter as Tails walked to the machine. Chewing her lip and fidgeting with her long ears, she mentally debated on spending a little time with Tails. Before he even touched the machine, she called out, "Wait!"

Tails turned around, and stared at Cream.

"Um… wanna have a drink?" she asked hesitantly. Tails walked back to the counter, sat on a bar stool and stared at the wood for a while. Then, looking up to her he spoke with a cool tone.

"Gimme something hard."

Cream nodded, "Ok, just a second," and she went to work, pulling down Nibelheim Whiskey, Aged Kalm Whiskey and Station Square No.1, blended them together, clinked two ice cubes and slid the glass to Tails.

Catching it, Tails swallowed the heavy alcoholic drink, burning his throat greatly and set the glass down hard.

Cream looked at him warily, '_He's… different…_' she thought. Walking closer to him, she started conversation. "So, what are you going to do after you get the money?" she asked, praying that he'd stay, just a bit longer.

"Well," Tails started, throat still on fire, "after I get the cash, I'm outta here, after all, I AM a mercenary."

Cream looked at him, eyes wide, '_He IS gonna leave! I can't let him go!_' she thought desperately. "Oh... Y-You better go down Tails," she stuttered.

Tails nodded and slid off the stool, when Cream spoke up again. "Hey Tails?" she questioned, "you look a bit tired, maybe you should get some sleep?"

Tails shook his head "I'm ok, don't worry," he said and proceeded to the basement.

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After descending the pinball elevator, Tails walked around the headquarters, observing what the members do on their spare time. Jessie was hammering away on her computer, when all of a sudden she pounded the keyboard. "Damnit!" she yelled, "I miscalculated something! Sigh… oh well now I know what to do for the next bomb…" and she went back to typing furiously.

Wedge was sitting around the meeting table, looking at blueprints of the reactors. When he heard Tails approach, he put on a smile. "Hey Tails, you ok man?" he asked as he observed the serious look on Tails' face.

Tails didn't say anything, but looked instead at the blueprints.

"Heh, yea, my job's too look over these blueprints and determine the safest path to the heart… but most of the time Jessie or Biggs help me out with these things…" he said. Silence ensued as Tails looked over the blueprints. "Hey Tails?" Wedge asked "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me?"

Sighing, Tails looked to Wedge. "Bug off, it's not your problem." He said, hints of bitterness in his tone.

Wedge smiled sadly and looked away. "Well, if you ever do, come to me, ok?"

Tails shook his head and made his way to the sounds of a punching bag being mauled. Hope was sitting on a box, cheering, while Bark was furiously punching the bag, working off the stress of the mission. Biggs stood behind watching, somewhat drunkenly. From the corner of his eye, Bark saw Tails and stopped punching, turning to the twin tailed kitsune.

"Hey, I got a couple questions to ask you," he asked. Tails turned his attention towards him and nodded. Bark continued. "What's with those tails of yours man? Are they some sorta SOLDIER thing?"

Tails widened his eyes. '_Is he THAT senseless? SOLDIER only enhances soldiers via Mako, not genetically mutate them…_' he thought. Sighing, Tails gave him an annoyed look. "SOLDIER didn't give me these," he said, pointing to his tails. "I was born with 'em."

The room fell silent as Tails said those words.

Bark broke the silence; "So then… How were you able to fly just now?" he questioned.

"I dunno… I always was able to do that I guess…" Tails answered truthfully.

The room once again became a flood of activity, each member going about their business once more.

Sighing, Bark collected his thoughts. '_Wow… never knew this kid was BORN with those tails…_' Shaking his head he looked at Tails again. "What was that thing you did to the Scorpion back there?" he asked.

The room fell silent once more, the members eager to hear how the Ex-SOLDIER took out the Robian.

Tails closed his eyes and thought hard for an answer. Several images flashed in his mind… A long, deadly blade… flames... Silver fur… green, slitted eyes… Shaking his head, Tails answered Bark's question. "What I used to finish off the Scorpion was nothing more than an adrenaline rush. There are a great number of individuals on Mobius who can utilize their adrenaline wisely enough to get out of a tight situation, whether it's by increasing ones speed or performing a desperation attack…" Tails paused, as he heard the sinister laugh again. He shook his head and sighed; "I'm sure you can understand the basics about this, right?"

Bark gave him a questioning look. "…Yeah, I guess I can understand it… a little bit…" he said, unsure.

The members of TORNADO once again went about their business, when Bark decided to ask one more question.

"Were there any SOLDIERS attacking us at the reactor?" he asked tersley.

Taking a second to process this, Tails replied curtly. "None, I'm positive."

Shrugging, Bark turned his attention back to the bag and punched it once. "You sound pretty sure of yourself," he said, his brows furrowing.

Tails narrowed his eyes. "Hey, if there WAS anyone from SOLDIER attacking us, you and all your little friends here wouldn't be here right now," he spat.

Bark once again shrugged and turned to him. "Don't go thinking you're so badass since you used to be in SOLDIER and all." He said, growling.

Tails said nothing. '_Damnit, what does he have against me?_' he thought.

Then, turning around, Bark began punching the bag harder, to the point where it would break.

Biggs latched onto his boss. "Boss! Calm down man!" Biggs yelled as the bear mauled the bag with his one set of claws.

In his rage, he picked up Biggs and threw him to the wall. Hope cheered him on, despite not knowing, nor understanding what was going on.

Heaving, he turned to Tails, glaring at him. "Yeah you're strong all right, but don't you forget now! Your twin-tailed furry ass is working for TORNADO now!" he yelled. "Don't get any ideas about hanging onto Kintobor," he sneered.

Tails glared at him with hatred. "Hanging onto Kintobor?" he asked, venom in his voice. "You asked me a question and I answered it. That's. All." He calmly walked up to the bear, eyes blazing with fury. Standing in front of him, Tails balanced on his tails to raise himself up to Bark's eye level, since he was about a foot shorter than he was. "I'm going upstairs," he said slowly, blazing blue eyes boring into Barks head. "I want my payment." Righting himself onto the floor, Tails walked towards the elevator, when Cream jumped down from the top.

"Tails, wait!" she said.

Bark looked to Cream. "Forget it Cream," he said. "Looks like little foxy here misses his beloved Kintobor," he sneered.

Tails stopped walking and turned around. "Shut up!" he yelled. "I don't care about SOLDIER or Kintobor, I've had it with those guys!" He paused, glaring at everyone. "But don't get me wrong," he continued with venom flowing from his voice. "I don't care about TORNADO or Mobius for that matter," he reached the elevator and activated it, not without saying one last thing. "Good luck with the bombing, you'll DEFINETLY need it…"

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When the elevator reached the top, Tails quickly got off, and went to one of the tables where he left his sword. Placing it on his back, he started off to the door, when he heard the elevator go back down, and rise again, bringing Cream along. She jumped off onto the bar floor and walked towards Tails quickly.

"Tails please don't go, join us," she said softly. "You heard what Bark said? Mobius is dying, slowly but surely, it's dying…"

Tails edged further towards the saloon doors. "Then let Bark and his buddies handle it, it has nothing to do with me," he said as he walked closer to the door.

Cream was heartbroken; here she finally found her childhood friend after so long and now he was going to leave, with so many injuries and with his mind all muddled up? She couldn't bear to think just how Tails was going to survive out there… Pretending to be rejected, she shouted at him. "SO! You're just going to leave and ignore your childhood friend, is that it?!"

Tails flinched and slowly turned to face her and stared down on the floor, his twin tails falling flat on the floor. "I'm… sorry Cream," he said.

"Tails, don't you remember our promise?" Cream asked after a brief silence, hope in her eyes.

Tails was confused, he closed his eyes and scoured his memories… White flashes, silver fur, spines, cold, unforgiving green slitted eyes, a monstrous blade, searing flames… but nothing on a promise…

"Promise?" he repeated, clearly confused.

Hurt was shown in Cream's eyes. "Don't you remember? It was seven years ago, by the well Tails," she said, sadly.

'_By the well… By the well…_' This thought was registering in Tails' mind, as the images formed in his clouded mind…

"I remember," he said suddenly. "I remember at the well… It was freezing... and I thought you would never come..."

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**Seven Years Ago…**

It was a cold winter night in the small mountain township of Nibelheim. The snow in the village was all but melted, but the air around was still frigid. On top of the town's local well, sitting on the platform surrounding it, a young two tailed orange fox sat. He wore a black shirt, and a pair of blue shorts with red and white sneakers as he sat there, trying to keep warm using his tails.

Miles Prower was waiting for someone important to come.

His ears pricked as he heard the soft footsteps on the platform. He turned his head to see a cute, cream coloured bunny girl wearing a plain brown dress approach him.

"Sorry I'm late Miles," she said softly, her amber brown eyes glowing in the moonlight as she smiled at the young fox boy.

"It's OK Cream," he simply said, as she sat fairly close to him on the raised well platform. Silence ensued as they both swung their feet over the platform, Miles' twin tails flicking lazily, despite the cold. Finally, Cream decided to speak.

"Why did you call me outside, Miles?" She asked, honestly and politely.

Miles looked at her, determination in his young blue eyes. "This Spring coming, I'm heading off to Megapolis," he said.

"All the boys are leaving our town…" Cream said as she looked down from the platform.

"But… I'm gonna be different!" Miles said, standing up on the platform. "I'm not just gonna find a job, I'm gonna get into SOLDIER!" he exclaimed.

Cream turned her head sharply at Tails, shock on her face. "B-b-but…" she stuttered. "Isn't it difficult to join SOLDIER?" she asked, concerned.

Miles looked towards the sky. "Yeah, it will be…" he said, feeling his confidence dim down a little. But it shot up once more, the determined glint returning in his eyes. "But I'm gonna become the best there is!" he continued proudly, "Just like… Nazo!"

Cream's eyes widened as she brought a hand towards her mouth. "Nazo… the Great Nazo?" she questioned. Tails nodded as he sat back down on the edge of the platform once more. Silence ensued again.

Cream spoke up again. "Will you be famous like him? And be in the papers and everything?" she asked.

"I'll try to, I'm not really sure though..." was Miles' simple answer. And they both fell into silence again.

Cream brushed her bangs and started to stroke her long, floppy ears, as she chewed her lip, contemplating something. After a moment she spoke yet again.

"Let's make a promise." she proposed.

Miles wasn't paying attention. "What?"

Continuing as though he heard, Cream continued. "Umm… if you ever get famous and… if I'm ever in a bind… I want you to come and save me alright?" she said, blushing slightly.

Miles was taken aback. "W-w-what?!" he exclaimed as he felt his body heat up.

"Well… If I ever get in any trouble, y-I mean-a hero will rescue me," she said, looking away so that he couldn't see her cheeks. "I want to experience that at least once… So? C'mon Miles!" she exclaimed, continuing to turn red. "Please promise me! Will you?" she asked sweetly, looking to him, amber brown eyes glowing from the moonlight.

Miles, also turning slightly red nodded, and finally said, "Yeah… I promise Cream, I promise."

And just then, a shooting star sailed above the two teens' heads as their promise was sealed under the moonlit sky…

----------------------------------------

**Present**

Tails finished his reminiscence, as he looked back towards Cream, who was now smiling softly. Instantly, Tails frowned slightly. "I'm sorry Cream… I'm not a hero, I'm not famous," he said, feeling low about himself. "I… I can't keep… the promise."

Cream looked to him smiling, despite how hurt she was. "But you got your childhood dream, didn't you Tails? You joined SOLDIER," she said softly. "So? C'mon! You have to keep your promise…" she said.

At that, the pinball elevator rose; the two never noticed it descend while Tails reminisced. Brow furrowed and metal gun-arm shining dully in the dim lighting of the bar, Bark stepped off the elevator and looked to Tails. Reaching into his inside vest pocket, he drew out a wad of bills. "Hey, big time Ex-SOLDIER!" he called out. "Catch!" and he threw the wad at him. Tails caught it easily and looked at Bark, Cream stroking her ears all the same. "A promise is a promise, kid," he stated. "1500 Mobium is in that wad, that's your pay."

Tails looked at the wad of money in his hand, then at Cream. She was stroking her ears; a common habit that she had since she was a child. Her eyes were filled with worry and she was chewing her lip. He then looked at the money again, closing his eyes. After a brief pause, he opened them and looked to Bark, smirking.

"Is this my pay?" he asked, seemingly insulted. "Don't make me laugh."

Cream gasped and Bark's eyes widened with rage. '_What the hell!_' Bark thought.

"IF, however, you have the next mission lined up for me. I'll do it for twice the amount you gave me," Tails said, his name-sakes swishing left and right, calm demeanor on him.

"WHAT!!!" Bark bellowed, and proceeded to rush him, when Cream stopped him.

"Wait! Don't!" she said as she went closer to his ear. Sighing, she whispered, "Were really hurting for help aren't we?"

Bark rubbed his muzzle, and put his hand to his head, contemplating. "Man that money was supposed to be for Hope and her school funds…" he whispered back.

"So, are you or are you not going to hire him?" she whisper-asked, briefly glancing at Tails.

Bark nodded slightly, and Cream broke out a tiny smile, hoping Tails didn't see it. Bark looked to Tails, "Alright fine, but I'm only paying 2000, is this acceptable?" he asked. '_I hate to say it, but without his help we couldn't have made it out of there alive, I hope he says yes…For Cream's sake at least,_' he thought, glancing at Cream.

Tails let out a small smile, before looking back to Bark, "Alright, two thousand it is. Consider my services re-hired." He said. "When do we start?" he inquired, coiling his tails around his waist, like a belt.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early," Bark barked out as he turned away wondering if he did the right thing, but when he heard the sounds of Cream's feet approaching Tails, and whispering to him a thank you, he couldn't help but smile a little bit.

End Chapter

**A/N:** Well there it is! Hope you've been enjoying yourselves up to now! I'm really glad I'm getting such a positive response from everyone on the site. Thanks dudes :P. Now for the preview for the next chapter!

Chapter 8 Preview:

The mission to destroy the Sector 4 RINGTEK Reactor begins! There's emerald lectures, scared executives, deadly races through train cars and a confused Bark (What else is new?) All this and more on the next exciting chapter of Mobius VII!

Now for some news. The school year starts up next week and I'm gonna be hella busy. So new chapters won't come out as often as they will before (and even then it wasn't often at all!). Given that I'll be real busy with University (THIRD YEAR BABY!) new chapters may take up to a month, even more to go up. But don't worry! I'm not gonna give up on this fic!

Thanks again to Blue Mage for the review. Glad you're still with me bro!

And remember, reviewing makes chapters come out faster and better too! So leave a review if you got the time! Later!


	8. Trouble on the Megapolis Express

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Zonic back with an all-new exciting chapter! A new entity is briefly introduced... If you've been following closely, you'd know who that voice "may" be! Sorry for the really late update everyone... University is killer... And on top of that, I have a job now! SO expect more delays on chapters... Sorry guys... Anyways, don't want to keep you all waiting! Here's Chapter 8! Sorry for being kinda late!

Note: CAPS UNDERLINED: Represents the new entity... who is it?

Chapter 8: Trouble on the Megapolis Express

The Void

/**You made it bro…**/ Mysterious Voice 1 returned, followed by Voice 2.

/_**You're back in one piece**_/ He said as Tails once again found himself in the Void.

'Who ARE you?" he asked, looking around in the endless darkness.

/**You don't need t…**/ But before he could finish, the two voices were gone, replaced by a sinister laugh that pierced through the Void. Tails cringed; the voice made all the hair on his fur stand out, and chilled him to the bone.

/_COME TO ME… IF YOU WANT YOUR ANSWERS, THEN SEEK ME OUT…_/ This new, cold, cruel voice called out, echoing in Tails' mind.

"Where?!" Tails called out, desperate to know why parts of his memory were fragmented…

/_SEEK ME OUT!!!!_/ It shrieked. Tails' screamed at the sheer volume and intensity of the voice, clutching his head, twisting and turning about until…

----------------------------------------

Tails awoke in a cold sweat. Looking rapidly to the left and right, he discovered he was in the basement-hideout of TORNADO, in Cream's bar. Sighing with relief, Tails rose up and lightly shook his head of sleepiness, contemplating the strange dream he just had… Shrugging, he ascended up the pinball elevator to the main floor, where everything was busy.

At the top, Tails looked around. He saw that the bar wasn't open yet, yet the place was active. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie left the bar just as Tails arrived at the scene. Bark was checking over several layouts of the reactor, Hope was behind the Vanilla's Haven counter, pretending to take stock like Cream did, while Cream was giving instructions to the baby-sitter; an old, gray chipmunk named Alphonse.

"Make sure she gets her nap, and takes her vitamins, alright Alphonse," she told the old Mobian. He simply smiled and nodded and proceeded to sit on one of the stools at the counter. Relieved that she got that out of the way, she looked around to see Tails standing around.

She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Good morning Tails!" she said brightly. "I trust you slept well?" she asked as he turned to acknowledge her.

"Mornin' Cream," Tails replied, then with a smirk, said, "Next to you, who wouldn't."

Cream's eyes went wide, and she turned away, blushing madly '_I can't believe he said that! He must've hit his head on something this morning…_' she thought. Noticing that his eyes were still burning holes in her skull, she regained her composure, turned around and stuttered out, "I-I don't know what you mean Tails," her lips in a tiny smile.

Then, looking at him with a grim face, she said to him, "I'm going this time, and before you argue with me, I'll be ok." She then walked away towards Bark before Tails could reply, doing her best to stop the giddy smile appearing on her face. '_I can't believe he still said that!!!! I wonder if he was hitting on me…_' she wondered happily. She stopped smiling and frowned. '_I'm worried about him though, he really was tossing and turning last night…_' she thought to herself, looking back at Tails.

Bark turned to Cream, then to Tails. Looking at him with a hardened gaze, Bark motioned him to come to the table. When Tails reached, he tugged his hat and brushed his fur, looking clearly uncomfortable at first. "Were hitting the #5 RINGTEK Reactor today, we'll head for the station and I'll fill you in on the train," he said, placing his hand on his gun and inspecting it, his eyebrows knitted together and his eye twitching until…

"YO TAILS!" he suddenly shouted out. Tails jerked his head towards him and looked at him strangely. Realizing all eyes were on him, Bark cleared his throat. "Well… before the mission starts, I just want to ask you something…" he trailed off, looking really uncomfortable. "I-I," he stuttered, until he yelled out, "I don't know how to use Emeralds! THERE! I SAID IT!" he said, muttering, growling and snarling at the fact that he needed the Ex-SOLDIER's help with something.

Tails looked surprised for a second. Then, as the initial shock wore off, he looked to Bark. "You wanna learn about them? It'll only be brief though ok?" he offered to Bark.

Bark thought it over for a second and then finally nodded. "Fine, I'll even give you that Emerald we found in the Reactor yesterday, just… teach me how to use it," he muttered very quietly.

Tails' extra-sensory hearing kicked in and he smirked. Then, motioning Cream to come over, he said, "OK, I'll explain to both of you, it's not that tough, once you get the hang of it."

Taking a deep breath, Tails closed his eyes. Several white flashes, coupled with silver fur and piercing hot flames attacked his mind's eye. Opening his eyes quickly and looking around the room, he shook his head and went about his explanation.

"Emeralds are the result of Mako being super-condensed beyond the typical ring form. The mystery as to why they take on a gemstone shape is unknown, but we don't need to worry about that. There are five types of Emeralds, the most common you'll probably find being Green Emeralds, or Magic Emeralds." he explained.

Tails then went to where his sword was stored and removed the tiny gems from the slots on the weapon. Returning, he let Bark and Cream observe the Emeralds.

"Each Green Emerald has its own type of magic in it," Tails explained, showing the tiny lightning bolts and ice crystals in the gems. "The most common magic you'll find being the three basic elements, Fire, Lightning and Ice and the restorative element, Heal," Tails explained, pointing to the Restore Emerald on the table. "There are some that are uncommon, some rare and even some that haven't been discovered yet."

"Next are the Blue Emeralds, or Support Emeralds as they are commonly known as. As you can tell, Blue Emeralds add support effects to Emeralds attached to it; hence they can only be equipped in linked slots on weapons and armor. Attaching them to single slots is completely useless," Tails informed them.

"Then comes Yellow, or Strategic Emeralds. Upon equipping these kinds of Emeralds, they allow the use of special kinds of techniques that were previously unavailable to use. Some are just about damn near useful, but the drawback is, is that to keep using the techniques, you gotta keep it equipped, so it can screw up your later Emerald configurations," he said

"Second last are Purple or Independent Emeralds. They basically have the ability to bolster certain parameters of the body and mind, like increasing your stamina or endurance, or emitting wards that prevent monsters from approaching. These can't be linked with anything, hence the name Independent Emeralds," he continued.

Finally, the rarest and most powerful are the Red or Summon Emeralds. When equipped, they allow you to call forth a deity to aid you in combat, which is very beneficial and will turn the tides in battle most of the time. You're still with me so far?" Tails asked.

Cream and Bark nodded slightly, giving the signal to continue.

"Well equipping Emeralds is good and all, but there's a price to pay. Green and Red Emeralds require lots of magical output to be used; therefore they convert some of the energy in your body dedicated to certain parameters, like your strength or endurance and channel it towards your intelligence or spirit, bolstering your magical output. So in a way, your stronger magically, but weaker physically. It's kinda like a double-edged sword. Oh and another important thing," Tails remarked as he pointed towards his Emeralds.

"As you fight and use the Emerald's powers, the Emeralds themselves grow stronger, and when they get strong enough, new spells, abilities or effects are available for use. When it becomes particularly strong enough, it becomes a Super Emerald and gives birth to a new Emerald. Super Emeralds are immensely powerful… or so I was told. And that's everything I know, the rest is up to practice." Tails concluded his 20 minute lecture.

Cream blinked a few times then nodded slowly in understanding.

Bark's eye however, started to twitch.

Shaking his head, he said to Tails, "What's with all this 'It's not that tough,' crap you were talking about? I have no clue what you just said…. Know what? YOU can handle the Emeralds ok?" he said, tossing Tails the Restore Emerald. Glancing at the clock, reading at 10:40 M.S.T., Bark said, "Ok, we got an hour to get ready, we should stock up on supplies. There's a weapons shop around here, should have some useful stuff." From there he left the bar and waited outside.

Both nodding to each other, Tails and Cream started to venture towards the entrance, following Bark. Cream stopped suddenly, and turned to Hope. "Make sure you be good Hope, and mind the bar and Alphonse while we're gone ok?" she said sweetly to the little girl.

Hope smiled and waved good bye. "Take care! Good luck!" she called as they left to obtain supplies for the mission.

----------------------------------------

Sporting new armor and Emeralds given to them by the generous weapon-shop owner who supported TORNADO's cause, Tails, Bark and Cream boarded the 11:48 express train heading to Sector 4. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie entered behind them. Bark looked around and motioned the three humans to his side.

"Looks like this isn't a private car, split up and search around," he ordered loudly.

Some of the passengers caught sight of Bark's gun and started fleeing to the next car. A human executive on the other side of the car sniffed disdainfully at the three.

Sighing he took his seat, not without mumbling, "Hoodlums again, don't I have just all the luck in Megapolis…"

Continuing to mutter incoherently, he didn't notice Bark walk right past him. His heavy boots came to a stop with a clunk, and he turned and faced the executive.

"Hey!" Bark bellowed out to the man, scaring him. "Did you say something about me just now?" he continued, glaring at him.

The man's eyes widened as he started to tremble.

Bark then looked around. "Hey, it got empty here all of a sudden… I wonder why?" he asked sarcastically.

The executive summoned up all the courage he could muster and looked at Bark in the eyes. "It's… it's because of people like you that it's empty! You heard what happened? TORNADO said there will be more bombings and only devoted Kintobor employees like myself would go to work on a day like this!" the man squeaked out.

Bark's mouth turned into a sneer as he raised his gun. "So? You working for Kintobor?" He asked venomously, finally pointing the gun at the executive's head.

Cream's eyes widened at the scene. Running quickly to Bark's side, she put her hands on her hips. "Bark!" she reprimanded him, frowning.

Bark turned his head to see Cream, and sighed. "Alright fine…" he said dejectedly. Then, looking back to the executive, he spat out, "You're lucky she was here to stop me," and then turned around and walked back towards Tails, who was watching with mild amusement. The executive let out a shaky sigh and proceeded to faint in his seat.

Adjusting his armor and the lone Ice emerald in its slot, Tails looked to Bark. "So what's up?" he asked coolly. Bark raised an eyebrow.

"Shit man, why are you so damn calm for?" he said, aggravated. All of a sudden, the car vibrated and moved around and hissing was heard at the ends.

Cream looked around. "Sounds like they've just connected the last of the cars, we're finally leaving" she remarked.

The engine hissed as the train started to move. Tails cracked his neck and loosened up his tails. "What's our next move?" he asked Bark, coiling his tails once again around his waist.

Bark laughed at him soundly. "HAHAHAHA! Listen to Mr. Serious-About-His-Work!" he guffawed.

Taking the time to calm down a bit, he spoke seriously to Tails. "Alright, I'll tell ya. Like I said, were hitting the Number 5 RINGTEK Reactor today, but there's a hitch in the plans, see?" he explained secretively. "From what the news reports indicated this morning, Kintobor just deployed its greatest top-of-the-line I.D. Security Checkpoint at the top plate and it's checking all the trains."

Cream added to that. "Kintobor is really proud of this system. We can't use our fake I.D.'s anymore."

"From what Jessie told us this morning before you woke up, we'll have to jump off the train and make our way to the reactor from there, there should be a shaft or something that leads to the underside of the plate, where we'll find a secondary entrance to the reactor." Bark said.

"Good Morning passengers," the intercom buzzed. "The express train heading for Sector 4 will arrive at 12:05 pm M.S.T."

Looking at the digitized clock on the train, Bark saw it was 11:50 am. "Alright," he said to Cream and Tails. "We got five minutes till we jump off the train, got it?" They both nodded.

Satisfied, Bark took his seat away from the fainted executive. Cream walked up to the monitor at the front of the car.

"Hey Tails!" she called out. "You mind coming over here and seeing this?"

Tails nodded and walked up to Cream. Cream looked to him, and smirked. "Your eyes tell me that you've seen this before, I guess then you wouldn't mind explaining it to a bunny-girl me, huh?" she asked, winking.

Tails widened his eyes and twitched his ears, then relaxed and nodded. '_She's just trying to mess with me, like I did with her this morning... that's all…_' he thought as he started to explain.

Suddenly, alarms wailed out as the emergency lights activated. Startled, Cream looked around. "That's odd," she whispered to Tails, "The security checkpoint should be further up from here…"

The intercom buzzed once more. "Attention all passengers! This is a Type A security alert! Unidentified passengers have been confirmed. A search of all cars will be conducted! I repeat, this is a Type A security alert! Unidentified passengers have been confirmed. A search of all cars will be conducted!"

Bark jumped to his feet and ran towards the two. "What's going on?" he asked Tails and Cream.

"I don't know what's happening Bark!" she replied, irritated.

"I bet I have an idea..." Tails started.

At that moment, however, Jessie emerged from the car in front. "We got problems guys, I'll explain later, just hurry to the next car!" she shouted over the alarms and ran in the opposite direction.

"Unidentified passengers located in Car #1, proceeding with Level 1 Alert," the intercom buzzed once more.

Bark shot the intercom and cursed. "&&! Somebody blew it… Let's get goin', NOW!" he ordered. With that the three ran into the next car as it locked down.

"Car #1 Locked down. Upgrading to Level 2 Alert. Scanning for unidentified passengers," the intercom sounded out.

Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were hurrying towards the front of the next car when Tails and the others arrived. "Hurry up Boss! You guys!" Biggs shouted out. "They're gonna lock the door!"

Bark nodded and the three dashed to the front, just barely making it in time.

"Car #2 Locked down. Scanning for unidentified passengers."

Bark sighed. "Alright! We're clear!"

Jessie looked at him grimly. "Don't count your chickens just yet boss, they're starting another check. If we move up the cars, however, we should be just fine."

A chicken-hawk Interbred heard Jessie speak. "You filthy human! How dare you mock proud chickens!?" he shouted at her.

A quick punch from Jessie silenced him as she moved up the cars.

The intercom buzzed once again. "Unidentified passengers located in Car #3, Upgrading to Level 3 Alert!"

"Let's go guys!" Jessie called out of the closing door. The three broke into a run as the train doors started to lock down.

"Tails we won't make it!" Cream shouted.

Seeing this, Tails pulled out his sword and hurled it at the door as it was closing. It got jammed in between the door, buying them extra time to get through.

Plucking his sword from the door, Tails kept running. "Don't stop running, who knows when those doors'll close!" he yelled at Bark and Cream.

They quickly proceeded up the car as the intercom yelled out. "Car #3 Locked down! Upgrading to Level 4 Alert!"

Hastily moving up the second last car, the three jumped into the front car.

"CAR #4 LOCKED DOWN! UPGRADING TO MAXIMUM LEVEL ALERT!!!!!" the intercom shrieked.

At the back of the car, Tails, Bark and Cream saw three oddly dressed individuals looking around the car. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Bark grinned. "Alright! We made it!" he exclaimed.

Running up to the front he turned around and called out to the two. "Yo guys! This way! Hurry!" He shouted at them.

Cream ran up to the front, Tails trailing behind. Opening the door, Bark looked to Cream.

"OK, you first, then fox boy and then I'll jump last. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie will handle things here," he ordered. Biggs nodded smartly at Tails. Wedge smiled half-heartedly, as he stood guard over two Mobians and a human, stripped to their undergarments. Jessie was avoiding Tails' eyes.

Cream walked up and opened the car door, wind blowing through her hair and about her long ears. Looking back to Tails, she smiled hesitantly. "Scary… huh?" she said shakily.

Tails shook his head. "Too late to be saying that now," he said. A thought about her was on his mind and he chose to tell her about it. "Cream, why'd you come along anyway?" he asked.

Cream looked away, and straightened her skirt with one gloved hand. "Because…" she started. '_Because I was worried about you, you're not yourself Miles 'Tails' Prower…_' she thought.

But before she could voice out her thought, Bark interrupted. "Hey you two! There ain't no time for that!?" he yelled.

Startled, Cream walked towards the open door. "Yeah! OK, I've made up my mind," she replied. Looking to Tails, winking and wagging a finger at him, she said in a singsong voice, "Watch closely Tails, I'm gonna jump!" Checking to see if any trains were coming on the opposite side, she put on a face of determination and jumped off the train.

Tails was surprised. Clearly his childhood friend changed just as much as he did, he thought. Walking to the door, he looked at Bark. "You sure you don't mind that I go first?"

Bark scoffed. "Hey, don't worry bout me, just get going! I have orders to give them anyways!" he ordered.

Tails shook his head, '_Still as stubborn as ever,_' he thought as he approached the door.

"Yo, one more thing!" Bark called out. Tails turned his head to regard him. "Don't get your twin-tailed ass hurt now; this is only the beginning of the mission."

Tails smirked and nodded, then jumped out of the train.

Bark looked to his teammates as he approached the door. "Later you guys, take care of the rest alright? Meet up at the rendezvous points discussed at HQ, Move OUT!" He ordered. The three humans nodded as Bark jumped off the train.

End Chapter

**A/N:** Well, theres Chapter 8! Hope you enjoyed this one. Here's whats comin up next!

Chapter 9: It's Cream's time to shine! Can her fighting prowess help out our favourite twin-tailed kitsune swordsman and our Gun-Armed toting polar bear? But what's this?! New enemies? Reoccuring nightmares? And talks about a plan... created by President Kintobor and his assistants! What's his plan? And why is he personally meeting TORNADO? Find out all the answers and more, on the next, suspenseful chapter!

Thanks goes to Chain123 for the review. And thanks goes to PM-ing buddy, brave kid, sorry it took so long to mention you my friend! And to all others out there, don't be shy! Review please. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy the new chapter, I'll return soon! Zonic


	9. The Rat Trap! The E Series Arises!

A/N: Hey Everybody! I am not dead! (Yet...) I just finished first semester of 3rd year university... It was a tough one that's for sure... but I'm done and I'm posting a brand new chapter for the story! Hold your applause for a bit, because I'm gonna try to get the whole book done by next semster! Sounds tough? You bet:P. If I can get it done, kudos to me, if not, well we'll have to wait till later to finish this book and start the new one. But don't worry, I have no intention of giving up this story, I'm too stubborn to just give up you know? Well enough of my ranting, bring your applause ladies and gentlemen because the fun is about to start! Several new characters are introduced and Cream starts to kick some serious ass, so get ready for some action! As well, time stamps will now show how much time is remaining to get out! So now, enjoy Chapter Nine! And drop a line if you got time!

Edit: Over 1000 hits! W00tness!

Chapter 9: The Rat Trap! The E-Series Arises!

Track to Sector 4: 12:03 M.S.T.

The roar of the train was all Tails could hear as he started flying in mid-jump. Stabilizing himself, he landed onto the track gently and searched around for Cream. To his left, he heard sounds of battle. Sensing trouble, Tails quickly ran towards the noise. What he saw completely surprised him.

There was Cream, facing off against 3 spider-like Robians at the same time. The three surrounded her, clacking their robotic pincers in anticipation for flesh and death. Cream stared down at the one in front of her and set a stance, planting her feet firmly to the ground. Unexpectedly, Cream rushed up to the bot in front and planted a mean roundhouse kick to the spider Robian's head, following up with a simple, yet powerful three hit combo with her fists, leaving the spider horribly dismembered and on its back, defeated. The other two then rushed up to her and surrounded her in a pincer formation. Cream eyed the two spiders circling her, with pincers clacking and eight mechanical eyes leering... At once, they both launched themselves onto her, hoping to rend her flesh with their powerful robotic maws!

But they were unsuccessful.

Cream, at the last moment, went into a dodge roll to the wall on her left. Rising from her dodge, she stepped up the wall three times, kicking off and going into a backwards somersault. The spiders crashed into each other; jaws locked together and completely dazed due to their blind charge. Tails watched with awe as Cream completed her graceful flip, letting gravity take its course as she landed feet first onto the heads of the spiders, completely crushing them.

Walking off the destroyed heads, Cream blew a lopsided ear away and brushed herself off. Spotting Tails and his dumbfounded look, she shot a sly grin to him. "So," she said, walking up to him, "Impressed? You should be! It was not like I wasn't doing anything for the last few years Tails!" She smiled and winked.

Tails snapped out of his reverence and focused his eyes on Cream. "I have to say, you're WAY different than what you were before Cream," he remarked, smirking. "It's like I barely recognized you; you've gotten so strong."

Cream's cheeks turned slightly pink as she giggled. But a crashing sound, followed by gunshots interrupted the lighthearted scene as Bark ran towards them, with Spider Robians in tow. Pausing every now and then, he turned and fired onto his opponents, then ran once more. Tails and Cream saw this and immediately went into action; running towards Bark.

"Tails! Cream!" Bark yelled as he kept running. "Give a bear a hand here!"

Cream looked to Tails. "Tails! How do I use the Emerald's powers?!" She asked as they rushed to Barks aid.

"Put your hand over the Emerald and concentrate on your target, let the Emerald's energy accumulate in your hands, then call out the spell and release it!" he shouted as he pulled out the Buster Sword and slew one monster Spider Robian after another.

Cream stopped in place, and placed her right hand on her left glove, the one holding the lone Fire Emerald in its slot. Concentrating hard, she raised and moved her arms slowly in a circle, the energies forming into flames cupped into her hands like balls. When her arms reached about shoulder level, she quickly brought her hands close together in front of her chest to form a medium sized fireball.

"FIRE!" Cream yelled out, taking a step forward and pushing her hands out, releasing the fireball. It hurtled past Tails and Bark, impacting on a Spider Robian with several holes in it and setting it on fire. The panicked Robian ran around, catching fire to others until a giant mass of chaotic flame was left. Taking the opportunity, Cream, Bark and Tails escaped upwards through the train tunnel, heading towards Sector 4.

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Somewhere Close to Sector 4 Station: 12:08 pm M.S.T.

Green beams of light crisscrossed at the entrance of the Sector 4 Station, preventing access or entrance to the station itself. Tails shrugged and looked to the other two. "We can't go no further... Lets look around?" He asked.

The three inspected the area, hoping to find some way past this obstacle. After a few minutes of searching Bark shouted out to his companions.

"YO! Check it out! I think I found something!" The two raced to the left wall of the shaft.

Bark pointed to a hatch set in the ground. "Looks like this is the shaft we go through to get to the reactor," he said.

Tails opened the hatch and peered into it. Bark shifted uncomfortably.

"Damn man, it looks kinda small... You think I'll fit?" he asked with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Cream also gave a look. "No, it doesn't look like there's anything that will block you on the way down," she remarked.

Tails nodded. "Come on, lets go down," he said. He looked to Bark and smirked, "Or, are you scared Bark?"

Bark widened his eyes, half in anger, half in fear. "Of course-friggin-not you two-tailed midget! Now lets go!" he shouted more loudly than he had to.

Tails smirked as he looked down the shaft once more and shook his head slightly. '_Heh, he must not like small spaces,_' he thought as he, Cream and a slightly hesitant Bark entered the shaft.

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Kintobor Inc. Egg Building: 70th floor: 12:10 pm M.S.T.

Gerald Kintobor, president of Kintobor Inc. stared at his vast city from his high-rise office on the top floor of the Egg Building: the main headquarters of his mighty RINGTEK power and weapons manufacturing company. He had a squat, bald head and wore thick eyeglasses made from a special one way mirror-lens, preventing anyone from seeing his eyes. He also had a large, bushy, gray mustache and a long nose. He wore a white suit which somewhat resembled a lab coat and wore expensive black shoes. His forehead was slightly wrinkled and had a few liver spots on top of his scalp. Despite his old looks, the Human exuded confidence and power from his person. Looking left to right from the window behind his massive desk, he sighed and wore a large, toothy grin.

"Ahhh... my beautiful Megapolis, and the teeming lifeforms pouring their money into our pockets for power and safety," he said in his gruff voice. "Especially those filthy Mobians... Paying extra just so they don't get Roboticized... heheheh... Money is money after all, no matter how you make it." he cackled quietly.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. "Enter," he said without turning around.

Two individuals, a human and a Mobian entered the office. Gerald turned around and retched just a bit when he saw the huge Mobian walk in.

The Mobian in question, had a large frame, stocky and well built. His face looked to be in a permanent, fearsome scowl with blackened, evil looking eyes and he had teeth jutting out from the bottom of his mouth, completing his villainous look. He wore a tight, green overcoat, adorned with several medals and wore gray slacks and black combat boots. The brown fur on his body and orange hair on his head and face contrasted greatly as he walked into the office with commanding, powerful steps.

The Human was a thin, young man, in his early twenties. He had orange-brown hair, spiked up slightly. His blue eyes wandered around the office, taking in everything that he saw. He was wearing a tidy blue suit and carried a binder underneath his arm, walking somewhat half-heartedly, as if he was nervous about something, as opposed to his counterpart following him.

Gerald welcomed them, to an extent. "Good afternoon, Mr. Thorndyke, Kodos, how are you today?" he asked eying the Mobian darkly.

The human, Christopher Thorndyke, head of the Urban Development Department, nodded to his boss. "Fine, thank you Sir," he said smartly. Then taking out the binder from underneath his arm, he handed it to the president. "Sir, I have the documents that you've requested, but," he paused for a moment, choosing his words wisely. "But why do you need the blueprints for the plates, if you don't mind me asking Sir?" he questioned.

Gerald flashed a fake smile to his employee. "No reason, don't worry about it," he said casually. "I just wanted to look over the work myself you know? After all, I need to know if the quality of these plate supports lives up to the standards here at Kintobor Inc. son." He paused, thinking for a moment, glasses flashing in the light. "How is your pet project coming along?" he asked finally.

Chris smiled. "Going great Sir, can't wait for you to see it when its fully done! Should be finished in a few weeks or so Sir." he said confidently.

"Ah, good, good." commented Gerald. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must... discuss something with Kodos, our head of Public Safety and Maintainence."

Nodding, Chris began to exit the room. "Right, good day President Kintobor, Mr. Kodos," he said as he closed the office doors.

Gerald's fake smile disappeared after Chris left and he looked towards Kodos with an intense, cold glare. "What do you have to report Kodos." he asked, bitterly.

Kodos' scowl intensified as he spoke. "Mr... President, I believe we have a breach in the Sector 4 underplate. Several intruders managed to enter the plate structure in an attempt to enter the reactor, the extra security you've... inputted seems to be working." he said with a low deep growl, glaring at the president.

"Hmph, those TORNADO fools again?" asked Gerald. "I think I will personally meet them," Turning around and walking to his desk he looked again at Kodos. "Kodos, I want you to alert the head of Weapons Development, Uma Arachnis. Tell her to order a squad of the new E-series robots to RINGTEK Reactor #4 and also, order her to prepare E-100 for launch as well, in case they fail to stop them," he commanded. "Afterwards, come back here, I want to discuss this... plan you have," he said with a hint of venom in his voice. '_Just what kind of plan did this filthy Mobian slime concoct anyway?_' he questioned to himself.

Kodos only bowed stiffly and carried out his orders. '_Racist human bastard,_' he thought as he left the office to seek out Arachnis.

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Underside of Sector 4: 12:45 pm M.S.T.

"Sorry guys," Jessie said as Tails, Bark and Cream exited one of several ducts underneath the plate structure. Jessie sat on the ground, her head hung low, berating herself for almost botching the mission. "I'm especially sorry to you Tails, I made your card special and thats why we got detected," she sighed.

Bark walked up to her, Jessie expected him to lash out harsh words, but instead he gently placed a paw on her shoulder. "Look Jess, it's OK. Don't worry about it," he consoled her. "So some things screwed up, no matter, we would've jumped out at roughly the same time if we weren't detected. Just don't blame yourself, if anything, it's the extremely high level of security nowadays that messed you up, not you OK? So jus chill..."

Jessie shook her head and sighed. "Yea, your right, I shouldn't worry," she replied. Taking out a small satchel, she tossed it to Cream. "Take this, the bomb's in it, plus instructions on how to manipulate the security settings on the manufacturing level of the Reactor so you can make your escape. Once I hear from Biggs that you've reached the final checkpoint, all three of us will head back to base."

Bark nodded. "Alright," he said. Then after a slight pause, added; "You did good Jessie, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

Jessie smiled slowly. "Thanks, now get going," she said.

Looking to Tails and Cream, Bark nodded to the two and motioned them to move into the next duct.

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Entrance to RINGTEK Reactor #4: 1:00 pm M.S.T.

"OK, this is as far as we go," Biggs said, looking around for any prowling Robians in the area. Tails, Cream and Bark had trouble reaching the final area before the reactor, getting ambushed by several of the Spider Robians, but a combination of an All plus Lightning Emeralds with Tails took them out much quicker. Bark was still having trouble activating Emeralds and misfired an Ice spell, narrowly missing Tails and Cream, who were both in close proximity with each other. Despite being banged up and scratched, they were all relatively fine.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Biggs decided to leave. "I'll see you back at base," he said. And with that, he left, leaving just Bark, Cream and Tails to enter the reactor.

Once they exited the duct to the reactor, they slid down a pipe to the entrance of the reactor heart. Entering, Tails noticed that the layout of the reactor was similar to the RINGTEK #1.

However, the differences appeared right before their eyes.

Several different robots appeared from behind pipes or from the shadows and ambushed the trio.

One had sickle arms and bore the serial number, E-17.

The second and third looked like pipes welded together, nearly identical except for the paint job, exuding numerous smoggy gases into the air. They bore the serial numbers E-43 and E-44

Stationary machine gun turrets fired different rounds from their barrels. Tails took no time in drawing out the Buster Sword and deflecting the shots until he struck. Reading the serial numbers on the destroyed mechs, he saw E-5 written on each.

Suddenly, two humanoid cyborgs, one dressed in blue, the other dressed in red, appeared from the ceiling and attacked Cream. Cream barely dodged them and ended up with a nasty gash on her left arm. Undeterred, she struck back hard with a flat palm strike on the first, followed by an elbow thrust on the second, before jumping out of the way for Bark to unload a round of bullets onto the unsuspecting enemies. Reading the backs of the hole-ridden mechs, Bark saw the numbers E-29 and E-30 written on them.

The sickle mech rushed at Tails from behind after he finished off the machine gun mechs, arms at ready to slice. But before it even reached Tails, he did a floating back flip, using his tails to stabilize himself and cut the mech in two as he landed in a crouch, righting himself.

Cream was busy fighting the smog mechs, E-43 and E-44. The green smogger, E-43, released a dark, foul gas, enveloping Cream and diminishing her sight. Blinded and choking on the putrid air, she groped around to find a way out. Rushing quickly, Tails and Bark double-teamed E-43; Tails lashing out with his tails and blindsiding him with the flat of his blade, and Bark unloading his ammo on it after Tails moved out of the way. E-44, the red one, struck Cream on the back and she went sprawling onto the ground on her stomach, nearly falling off the narrow walkway they were fighting on. It then spewed out a green poisonous gas in Cream's direction. Tails jumped in front of her, back towards the enemy and whirled his tails at high speed, blowing the gas away. Behind him, Cream began charging up another Fire spell, conjuring another medium sized fireball.

Jumping up and over Tails, she released her charge, emitting a battle cry. The ball struck E-44, igniting the fuel that it used to create and release noxious gas and finally exploded. As soon as Cream landed, she fell to one knee.

"Hahh... S-so Tails?" she asked breathlessly. "Is... Is this... Hahh... Is this how it was.. Huff... Fighting in SOLDIER... Wheez..." She took the satchel Jessie gave her and opened it, grabbing the blue Potion vial, cracked it open and drank it, giving her an energy boost, then used the Restore Emerald to close up her wounds.

"Huff... Man... Now THAT was intense..." Bark commented, drinking a Potion as well. "What are those things that just attacked us?"

Tails was not as exhausted as the other two. He scanned the carnage they've created, paying close attention to their ambushers. "These guys ain't Robians, that's for sure," he remarked. "They look and act more mechanical than Robians do, possibly another new creation of Kintobor Inc?"

"Well... they sure as hell ain't easy," Bark muttered.

Hearing this, Tails smirked. "Like this was ever easy in the first place?" he retorted.

"Guys, enough," Cream intervened, standing up and dusting herself off. "We have to finish the mission."

Walking towards the reactor heart, Tails suddenly stopped and clutched his head, feeling intense, searing pain and a high-pitched buzzing noise in his head.

"Ugh..." he muttered, as he dropped to one knee. "Ahggg! Unhh...! Ohh..." He collapsed behind Cream.

"Tails!" Cream yelled as his friend lay on the walkway, twisting and turning in pain. "Tails! TAILS!"

"Man, this happened the last time we were here... What's goin' on with him? What does it mean?" Bark asked as Tails writhed in pain.

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Somewhere in The Void

When Tails came to, he looked around. Dark, concrete walls surrounded him and he lay on a peculiar walkway. Below him, he saw a vast sea of golden-silver Mako, shimmering. In front of him, he saw a familiar sight. A slightly younger-looking Cream, wearing her present clothes and a large sun hat, was kneeling beside a dead rabbit woman, sobbing. Embedded into it, was a seven foot long, glittering katana.

'_Masamune? Why?... But... Huh?_' Tails questioned what he saw in front of him. His thoughts were broken when he heard Cream's voice.

"Mama?... Nazo!?" she cried incredulously. "Nazo did this to you, didn't he!?" She continued to sob, until she controlled herself and stood up, grasping the sword in her mother's body and pulled it out, grimacing. "Nazo... SOLDIER... Kintobor... RINGTEK... EVERYTHING! I HATE THEM! I HATE THEM ALL!!!!!!" she yelled out and charged into the next room.

Before Tails knew what happened next, the blinding pain returned in full force, and he awoke...

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RINGTEK Mako Reactor #4 Heart: 1:50 pm M.S.T.

"What?" Tails murmured as he roused himself.

"HEY!" Bark shouted. "Get a hold of yourself man! Damn..."

Cream kneeled down to Tails. '_What was going on with him... I could've sworn he was fine just a moment ago... and now? He's on the ground, suddenly in extreme pain? What happened?_' she wondered. Closing her eyes and moving that thought into the back reaches of her mind, she concentrated on Tails.

"Tails," she called. "Are you alright?"

Tails looked up to Cream, eying her wearily. "...Cream?" he called softly.

"Yes Tails?" she answered worriedly.

Tails' ice blue eyes flashed cold green for a second, reverting back to normal and he started to rise. "No... Don't worry bout it, let's hurry." he said quietly.

"Huh? Umm... OK Tails..." Cream hesitantly replied. '_What was that about? He's unconscious, then rises up like nothing happened? And his eyes? Source... This is_ _way too _serious!' she thought, eyes widened. '_I have to talk to him after we get back from the mission._' she concluded.

Tails took the bomb out of the satchel and carefully placed it onto the reactor heart. His mouth in a grim line, he set the time limit to 60 minutes once more.

Click! Beep. BEEEEEP! "60 Minutes to Self-Destruct"

As soon as he activated it, Tails' hand shot straight to his blade, anticipating an enemy attack but...

Nothing happened...

'_Something's wrong here..._' Tails thought. Turning to his teammates, he nodded to them. "Let's get out of here," he called out.

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RINGTEK Mako Reactor #4, Manufacturing Level: 2:15 pm M.S.T. - 45 minutes remaining.

Exiting the elevator to the manufacturing level of the reactor, Tails, Bark and Cream walked towards the security center. All around them, Mako was being condensed into small rings and packaged into special boxes. This was where RINGTEK was developed.

"OK, from what the instructions say, I have to enter these codes and then we gotta press three buttons on this console at the same time," Cream said, pointing to the console near the door. The three surrounded the console and Cream quickly started punching in a long list of codes written on several sheets of paper.

Seeing that it was taking too long, Tails decided to intervene. Opening the console himself, he started to mess around with the wiring.

"Tails?! What are you doing?" Cream asked as she was interrupted by entering the codes.

Tails continued working, completely immersed in the machine to hear Cream's voice. He quickly disconnected and reconnected several wires, then fumbled around with the fiber optic cables to jam the door security signals. Closing the panel he removed, Tails rose up to the console and started to hammer away at the keys furiously.

"W-What is he doin'? How does he know this shit?" Bark questioned, completely in shock that Tails knew so much about electronics.

"He... He's known about machines and electronics since he was little..." Cream mumbled as she watched Tails work.

Mere seconds passed and Tails stopped typing. "Done," he said, a small smile on his lips. As soon as he spoke, both security doors opened up, allowing access to the exit. "Let's go," he said to his teammates. They both followed without question.

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RINGTEK Mako Reactor #4, Walkway: 2:20 pm M.S.T - 40 minutes remaining.

Exiting the reactor, the threesome broke into a run, quickly heading to the escape. Bark took the lead.

"This way! Come on!" he yelled as he turned left on the walkway. But he barely made it half way when Kintobor soldiers poured out of the exit.

"Crap! OK, other way, other way!!!" Bark ordered. But as soon as he stopped speaking, more soldiers entered from the other side, crowding around them until him, Cream and Tails were surrounded.

"W-wh-what's going on?!" Cream exclaimed, startled.

Tails scanned the area around him. '_Surrounded on all fronts, no possible exits except falling off or going back in... but the reactor's gonna blow in less than 40 minutes,_' he thought. "It's a trap! The reactor's the only possible exit!" he shouted.

"It's not the ONLY one," a voice boomed out from the entrance of the reactor.

Casually walking out of the entrance was President Kintobor, a smug grin on his face.

Cream's eyes widened. "P-President Kintobor? Why is he here?!" she said aloud.

"Hmm... You must be those guys... What are they called?" Gerald mocked. "AVALANCHE?"

"It's TORNADO, you long-mustached, fugly slimeball!" Bark spat out venomously. "And you're supposed to be what? President Kintobor of Kintobor Inc.? You don't look THAT impressive!" he jeered, trying to aggravate him.

Tails came up from behind Bark, and glared hard at the president. "Mr. President." he greeted coldly. "Long time no see."

Gerald looked at the kitsune before him. '_I don't remember seeing him in my LIFE... Hmph, he'll die anyway, might as well humor him before then._' he decided. Placing his hand underneath his chin, he scratched it and leaned forward as if he was observing Tails as a research specimen. He noted the odd shimmering glow in his blue eyes._ 'SOLDIER _eyes...' he thought.

"Long time no see?" he questioned, pretending to remember. "Ah yes, the Ex-SOLDIER turned traitor. I can tell just by looking in you eyes, boy. Now, tell me what was your name, filthy Animal?" he asked, his glasses glinting in the low light.

Tails narrowed his brows. "Tails," he replied as he placed his hand slowly on the hilt of the Buster Sword.

"Hmph... Filthy mongrel, as if I care what your name is," Gerald replied, dropping his act. "It's not that I'll remember the name's of those who I kill anyway..." Pausing, he stared straight into Tails' eyes. "Except if you were to become another Nazo," he said venomously.

Tails' grip on the sword faltered as he heard the name. "Nazo?" he questioned.

"Ah yes, Nazo... Brilliant, for a Mobian... perhaps TOO brilliant," Gerald said, jaws clenching with rage.

Bark had enough of the talk. Stomping his foot and aiming his gun, he shouted at the president, baring his fangs. "I don't give a damn about any of that shit!" he yelled at Gerald. "Soon enough, this place is gonna go BOOM and it'll serve you guys right for destroying Mobius!" he said smugly.

Bored, Gerald straightened his suit and adjusted his glasses. "Does it really matter? All these pretty fireworks... just to destroy disgusting monsters like you and the rest of them." he said, smirking.

Bark snapped. "Disgusting monsters?!" he shouted fiercely. "You guys are the disgusting monsters! Killing this planet, sucking it's life force dry with your machines!"

He pointed his gun at the Gerald's head. "And you," he said with pure loathing and hatred in his voice, "You are the most gruesome and horrifying monster of all! Throwing innocent Mobians into your Roboticizor, just cuz they're different? And charging us more on taxation? Just to live? You're the lead monster! So shut up you sick sack of shit!"

Gerald's eyes widened behind his thick glasses. "My, my. Quite a temper we have," he childed. "As for the reactor... It's no matter to us. We still have other reactor's that will power the city... Too bad you won't live long enough to see them all, much less blow up," he drawled.

Bark's eyes widened. His right arm shook with pure rage.

Tails turned his head and looked at Bark's eyes. '_His eyes... they're filled with so much rage and contempt... I have a feeling that this battle isn't just for the planet's protection... it must be personal,_' he thought. He decided to ask him about that later on.

Looking to his expensive watch, he noted the time. "Ah, look at the time, you all must excuse me, I have a very important dinner to attend. I am a very busy man and I have commitments to uphold." he explained, completely ignoring Bark. '_Especially when these commitments deal with heavy taxations on Mobians!_' he thought fiendishly. Pushing his happy thought away, he looked again to the trio. "But don't fret, I've arranged for a playmate for you all," he said as he snapped his fingers.

A soft humming was heard at the exit closest to Cream. "What's that noise?" she asked. She faced the doorway, now devoid of soldiers, where a large, green robot hovered out.

"Wh-What the hell is that?!" Bark shouted in surprise, turning to face the robot.

It had a canister-like head and a hover unit for legs, with two large arms and a searchlight on its left shoulder. On its side the serial number, E-100 was grafted into it. Suddenly, the robot dashed forward towards the three. Cream and Bark moved towards the sides while Tails dashed up the walkway leading into the reactor when the robot stopped and hovered, red-amber eyes looking towards its master.

"This is E-100, codenamed: ZERO, one of one hundred other different models that have been created as Techno-Soldiers from our Weapons Development Department. I'm sure you faced the first few of our E-series robots earlier," Gerald chortled. " I'm sure the data he will extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to the other 89 models under my command," he laughed.

"Techno-Soldiers? What the Hell?" Tails questioned.

The roar of whirring blades were heard around as a helicopter descended and landed in front of the president. From behind the copter, Gerald shouted out. "Now if you'll excuse me, have fun, filthy Mobians!" The helicopter ascended. Gerald disappeared.

"Damnit!" Tails yelled. He still had some more questions to ask him.

"Tails! Help!" Cream hollered out. ZERO was facing her and Bark, Gun-Arm at the ready.

"Yo Tails, we gotta do something about him!" Bark also called out, readying his gun.

ZERO advanced upon them, making small, threatening approaches.

"Is this thing really from SOLDIER?" Cream inquired shakily.

"No way! It's only a machine!" Tails answered back, drawing his sword and facing Zero's back.

"Look I honestly don't care what in Hell this is. It could be a toaster for all I care." Bark growled, pointing his gun at ZERO, his frustration hitting his breaking point. "But one things for sure, I'm gonna tear this shit up into scrap metal when I'm done!"

End Chapter

A/N: So what do you think ladies and gents? I hope your all at the edge of your seats waiting patiently! Just to quench some of your anticipation, here a preview of the next chapter!

Chapter 10 Preview:

E-100 ZERO attacks! Can Tails, Bark and Cream tackle this metal monstrosity? Or will the battle end with the death of Tails!? Find out next time!

I'll pop out the next chapter soon folks, just be patient. Drop me a line, tell me how I'm doing. Is it exciting? Boring? In between? I wanna hear what you guys think! Don't be shy dudes and dudettes! I'll be back soon! -Zonic


	10. Separation

A/N: Hey all, back again to pop another chapter at ya! And so soon too! I hope you guys liked the last chapter, cause today's chapter involves the all famous side attack boss battle. I hope everyone likes it. I'm still working on all the other chapters and I'll post them up soon. Now, Enjoy Chapter 10! Now I must return to my writing Zen! Ommmmm...

Chapter 10: Separation

ZERO advanced on Bark and Cream, swinging its arms in an attempt to injure one of them. Cream dodged its blows as she was looking for an opening, while Bark shot it from time to time when Cream was out of the way. Switching tactics, ZERO tried attacking with its two fists simultaneously. Cream ran up and easily dodged it, planted a powerful side kick to its lower armor.

It only left a slight dent.

Cream frowned as she moved out of the way for Bark. The impact her foot made with the robot's armor caused her leg to numb slightly. '_Darn, didn't work out as well as I thought... Perhaps using magic will work better?_' she thought as she watched Bark release his first batch of ammo. '_I wonder if Tails is OK..._' she wondered.

Bark unloaded a salvo of bullets after Cream moved away. The shots impacted on the armor of the mech, but it did no serious damage to it. '_Shit, Cream and I can barely make a dent in this guy, its armor is too strong!_' he thought.

On the other side, Tails faced ZERO's back, with the Buster Sword ready. Narrowing his eyes, he leaped and slashed at its unprotected rear armor. The robot lurched forward as the heavy blade found its mark and damaged its outer shell.

Tails smirked in satisfaction. "Guys!" he shouted to the others facing the robot. "Its armor is thinnest at the back! If I keep damaging it, I could open a hole to its inner circuitry and short-circuit this thing!"

He then dashed up and sliced the armor again, weakening it more. On the other side, Bark grinned.

"We'll keep that thing busy for ya, man!" he shouted, then turned to Cream. "C'mon Cream! Can't let Tails outdo us, can we?"

Before the two could act however, they heard something open from its back.

"Primary mode initiated, Rear Guns Activating," ZERO said in its electronic voice. From its back, two gun barrels emerged from the openings and aimed straight for Tails.

The guns fired on him. Cream heard the gunshots and gritted her teeth. She knew without a doubt that Tails could take care of himself, after displaying how he handled gunshots with Bark and others as they fought._ 'He'll be OK, I KNOW he'll be _OK...' she thought hopefully, putting her focus back on the battle. Placing her hand on her left glove where her Fire emerald lay, she started to summon up a fireball, concentrating hard on ZERO. Meanwhile, Bark covered her; distracting it with short bursts until she was ready.

From behind, Tails dodged the shots and attacked at the same spot, causing more damage to its armor. ZERO decided that Tails was too much of a threat to its rear armor. The hover unit allowed him to turn on the spot, facing Tails. ZERO swung a fist at him, trying to connect a strike.

Suddenly, from the opposite side, Cream unleashed the fireball and shouted. "FIRE!"

The fireball hit the spot where Tails attacked earlier, leaving a small, but noticeable, hole in the armor. ZERO buckled under the force of the attack.

It ran a systems check. Seeing as it lost approximately 40 percent of its armor, ZERO initiated its next move. Turning around and facing Bark and Cream once more, it spoke out again.

"Threat level assessed. Initiating Secondary mode," ZERO said. "Activating S-Bomb launcher."

The top of the robot's canister-like head opened up, revealing a launcher. Turning towards Cream, it shot a shell from the launcher, resulting in an small explosion upon impact with the walkway. Cream barely dodged the blast and was knocked off balance by the aftershock, landing hard on her back.

"Shoot! Cream!" Bark yelled as he rushed to her side. Cream hissed in pain as she felt the cold metal on her furred back. Nevertheless, she slowly stood up with Bark's help. '_Phew, she's alright_,' he thought gratefully. He then checked his ammunition supply whilst Tails kept ZERO busy. '_Crap, I'm running low on ammo... perhaps there's more in the satchel?_' he questioned. Looking around him, he spotted the satchel a few feet away. Quickly, he ran towards it, rummaging around. His paw grasped onto something that felt like an ammo clip. Pulling it out he saw that the clip wasn't filled with bullets but with something else. On the side of the clip, he saw writing. It was Jessie's.

_Boss_

_Finished Grenade Launcher clip like you asked. Forgot to give you on train. Use only in emergencies, you know how to equip and use it with your Gun-Arm._

_Jessie_

Bark grinned. He held what he thought was victory in his hands.

-----------------------------------------

During that time, ZERO was stationary, waiting for its systems to cool after using the launcher. Taking this opportunity, Tails charged up a lightning spell in his hands and focused on the back of ZERO's body, on the hole Cream made a while ago. Placing his hands in front of his chest, yellow energy forming in his palms, Tails concentrated, focusing directly on the hole. Then, he shot his hands out and called out, "BOLT!" The energy released from his hands was sent through the opening. Tails smirked. '_He's definitely gone for sure!_' he thought confidently.

The sounds of crackling electricity was heard and the robot momentarily stopped... Until it reactivated again and started to freak out.

"Error, error," ZERO said, body flailing about mindlessly. "Systems malfunctioning. Initiating Self-Scan. Turning function ceased. Arm motion ceased. Main Circuit Insulation destroyed. All remaining systems normal. Initiating Emergency mode. Override safety protocols. Increase energy output to 120 percent. Readying S-Bomb launcher," as it said this, it stilled itself, using the last of its turning ability to face away from the reactor and its top opened up, revealing its S-Bomb Launcher. "Configuring to multiple launches." It charged up its main weapon, the hum the launcher made was growing louder and louder...

Tails' smirk dropped as he cursed. _'Shit!! It had some sort of insulation this time... I could charge another Bolt spell, but by the time I'm finished it might let loose with those bombs again!_' he thought. "Damnit..." he cursed, holding his sword in a ready stance. "Only one thing left to do then... I'll have to hack away at it until there's nothing left!" Bright, green energy once again surrounded his arms and sword. He entered another adrenaline rush.

Tails rushed up to ZERO and, using his hover unit as a foothold, jumped high into the air. Using his tails to gain more height and stability, Tails soared up and placed his sword behind his back like he did against the Guard Scorpion. When he reached the peak of his height, he dived and went for the kill, emitting a war cry...

-----------------------------------------

On Bark and Cream's side, they heard Tails unleash his lightning spell, but saw it had little effect on the mech. Its top opened up and the launcher was preparing to fire, this time for multiple shots.

"Bark, this isn't good!" Cream exclaimed, massaging her injured lower back and wincing slightly in pain. "If any of those shells hits us, we're goners!"

"I know Cream!" Bark shouted, a grave look on his muzzle. But he shot Cream a toothy grin. "But I got a way to win!"

Suddenly, on Bark's Gun-Arm, a compartment on the center of his Gatling Gun opened up and a short barrel emerged from it. Bark carefully aimed at the top of ZERO's head, where its main weapon lay. His concentration completely immersed in getting the grenade inside the mech. His adrenaline rose until it felt like time slowed down. Everything counted for this shot...

"Say goodnight, Flip-Top!" Bark yelled, his deep voice full of victory. "Grenade Launcher Fire!"

The sound of pressurized air releasing was heard and a small, cylindrical round was released out of the barrel and arced into the canister-like head of ZERO.

"YES!!!" Bark whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "I am the bear! He's gone! He's history! He's..." But before Bark could finish his sentence, he heard a loud roar coming from above. Looking up, he saw a figure in the air, with orange-yellow fur, pointy ears and twin tails, giant sword poised to cleave ZERO in two. His jaw dropped and eyes widened. "Oh shit..." he mumbled meekly.

Cream widened her eyes with fright. "TAILS!!! LOOK OUT!!!!!!! IT'S GONNA BLOW!!!!!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

He couldn't hear them. He swung his sword downward, his eyes, intense blue, shining.

The Buster Sword barely touched ZERO... when the grenade inside ZERO's head exploded!

Tails' eyes widened. '_Aw shit..._' he thought. Desperately, he turned his sword at the last possible moment, the flat side facing ZERO to protect himself from the shrapnel. However, his tails were not as protected as the rest of his body was. Several bits of shrapnel struck his tails, injuring them greatly.

The explosion engulfed part of the walkway, destroying it. Tails flailed a free hand around and caught a metal bar jutting out of the remains. Holding on for dear life, he glanced down at the fifty foot drop and frowned. He then struggled to raise himself up with one hand, the other holding his Buster Sword.

Cream ran to the edge of the ruined walkway, seeing Tails fall and cling on to the small bar, and tried to reach his hand. But try as she might, she couldn't reach him.

She turned to Bark, worry and fear etched on her face. "Bark! We have to help him! Can't you do anything!?" she asked desperately.

Bark hung his head low, looking ashamed. "I can't do a damn thing about it," he said guiltily.

Cream kept trying, tears falling form her eyes. "Tails! Don't die!" she cried. "You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!" '_So much about what happened back then... and why it happened to you..._' she thought sadly.

Tails, still holding on, bowed his head and closed his eyes. "I know Cream, I know," he simply said. He felt his grip slipping...

Bark looked at a timer Jessie provided in the satchel. _'Only have a few minutes till it blows... Oh man..._' he thought. Looking to Cream, he tapped her shoulder. "Hey, we gotta go..." he said softly.

"No! I can't go! I don't want to leave without him!" she cried out again, trying so hard to save Tails.

Tails looked up to her, his eyes looking straight at hers with a sense of seriousness. "Cream, I'm gonna be OK, I'll come back to you, so don't worry and get out of here," he said.

Bark had a thought. "Hey Tails!" he exclaimed. "Why don't you try flying out?"

Cream started to lighten up, but Tails sadly shook his head. "No go. My tails are busted bad," he explained. "I dunno if I can fly and I don't want to risk anything... But I'll survive, don't worry. Just get Cream out of here."

Sighing, Bark nodded. "Alright man, I'm sorry about this," he apologized.

Tails frowned. "Quit talking like this is the end. I'll be fine!" he snapped.

Bark nodded again. "Alright then man, later," he said.

"Yea, later," Tails replied.

At that, the reactor exploded. Bark quickly took Cream in his burly, white arms and rushed her out. Cream's arm was still extended, tears streaming from her eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" she cried out as they left through the exit.

The explosion jostled the metal bar free, and Tails entered free-fall. Out of pure desperation, Tails started to move his namesakes in an attempt to fly. The bloodied appendages started to whirl, but slowly. Tails tried to take the pain in as best he could as he made an attempt to save himself. His twin-tails did as much as they could, despite his injuries and his drop speed started to reduce, if only a by a little bit.

He fell and fell and fell... His sword left his hand and plunged downwards into a building.

The very same building which he crashed into and fell unconscious.

End Chapter

A/N: So, how was it? Leave a comment if you feel like it. And now, here the preview for the next chapter!

Chapter 11 Preview

A distraught Cream and Bark escape the reactor, only to be followed on the way back to base... And... Tails survives! But who's the flower girl? Is she familiar? And what about that strange, purple furred coyote? What's his story? All will be answered in the next, exciting chapter!

Well, there it is ladies and gentlemen. Leave a review if you got time, otherwise see ya next chapter! -Zonic


	11. Enter Cosmo

A/N: Merry Christmas everybody! (Well... even though it's the day after...) I have here a special surprise to give for Christmas: Two New Chapters!!! WOOHOO!! I'm working extremly hard on this story, I wanna make this really good. The most hillarious parts are coming up really soon and I want to make it the best that it is!

There is one thing I do want to clear up first, so things aren't as confusing as before (I hope nobody's confused nevertheless...). For those of you who have been sticking around (THANK YOU!) and reading the story, the world has two main, intelligent species: Humans and Mobians. The cross between the two are Interbreds, which are shunned upon. But Mobians are known to breed outside of their own animal species and those are Crossbreeds, though they're still considered Mobians in their own respect.

Ahh... Chapter 11. This is where Cosmo finally makes her debut. I really like how she turned out. She's like Aerith, but I deviated from the norm and made her more outgoing. She also has problems with her past as well, you'll see as the story unfolds. And finally, SURPRISE! (again!) The second Mysterious Voice finally gives us a name. It's gonna be a huge spoiler for those who have been reading into the story a lot.

I want to talk more, but I'll save it for later. I know you guys want to start reading ASAP, so I'll wait till the end of the chapter. This is Part one of two of the update, so enjoy Chapter 11... damn, can't find anything to rhyme with it today guys... lol.

Chapter 11: Enter Cosmo

::Cream's P.O.V.::

I still couldn't believe it...

So many images... Bark launching his Grenade Launcher... Tails falling from the sky, sword behind his back... The explosion...

Tails hanging on by a thin piece of metal that remained when the walkway blew... His bushy tails all bloodied up from shrapnel...

Then... the reactor blew... and he fell...

Still... I couldn't help but cry... I swore I would never cry again after entering Megapolis over four years ago... but enough about that.

Bark's carrying me, running as fast as he can to the train station, while carrying me in his large, rough-furred arms...

These arms... almost remind me of my mast- No. No reminiscing. Not about THAT. The past is the past, I have to move on...

But what if Tails didn't survive... how can I move on?

Ugh... I feel like such a weakling! I shouldn't tear up like this! I've gotten so strong and Tails noticed this too!

Perhaps...

Physically, I've grown strong... But mentally... I'm still the same...

I'm still the same shy bunny-girl that lived in that small mountain town not too long ago...

But my childhood friend... is not that same quiet and precocious fox-boy that always watched in the sidelines...

He's different... Almost like... someone from back THEN... THAT time... When everything happened...

Ugh! No more thinking about that! It happened, I couldn't do anything about it...

"Cream? Hey, kiddo, snap out of it," My train of thought snapped as I returned to reality. Bark snuck onto a freight train heading for the slums. I looked up to him slowly.

"Bark?" I regarded him sadly, lowering my head, my eyes downcast. "Tails isn't gone is he? He'll come back, right?" I asked...

"Hey, hey now," he spoke softly, speaking to me like I was his daughter. "Tails will be fine, that kid's stronger than he looks. He'll survive that, he was from SOLDIER."

I sighed. That's right, Tails was in SOLDIER. I've seen and heard him do so many things since I picked him up near the Sector 7 train station less than a week ago...

He's dodged bullets, he's fought giant Robians, he's been having spasms and headaches... and he's even fainted sometimes... But he's still so strong... He's still able to keep going, no matter what happens to him.

I have to be strong. No, I AM strong. I won't let this get to me. Tails will come back, I'm sure of it.

"Tails will come back, I'm sure of it," I said with rising confidence, repeating what I mentally said.

Heh, Bark smiled. He won't admit it, but he's also concerned about him too... I'm glad they're finally starting to get along...

----------------------------------------

We reached the Sector 6 station a few minutes later. We both got off, rushing towards the shutter bay doors connecting Sectors 6 and 7. That is, until I saw some movement near some of the rubbish that littered the land.

I paid no attention to it at first, but as we approached the bay doors, I saw a figure dart behind some a pile of scrap. Someone was following us.

I mentioned this to Bark. We circled around and captured our stalker. Bark started getting information using force, asking why this guy, a Ferret, was following us.

He mentioned something about us, TORNADO, but he wasn't going to give more info... Until he spotted me.

"Hey, that's one hot lookin' bunny chick!" he leered as Bark held him by the collar. I scowled at him, cheeks turning slightly pink. How dare he! "She might score big with my boss, Don Corneo."

Regaining my composure, I put two and two together and I realized that if I wanted more information, I'd need to go to the source, no matter how bad it seemed. I stopped Bark from beating the guy senseless as I approached the weasel. He continually kept staring, mostly at my body... Ugh...

Men are such pigs... But this guy's boss may know more about why we were being followed and what it has to do with TORNADO...

Completely heeding Bark's warning looks, I bit the bullet and asked, "So how do I meet this 'Don Corneo'?"

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The Void

Tails started to stir from his unconscious state, only to find himself looking at the vast whiteness of The Void. Coughing slightly and shaking his head, Tails looked around.

"What the?" Tails asked out loud. "Back here again?"

/**Hey, hey! Look whose awake? It's Sleeping Beauty!**/ Mysterious Voice #1 mocked playfully, his blurry image presented in front of Tails.

/_**Leave him alone, you bully... Can't you see he's injured?**_/ Mysterious Voice #2 said exasperatedly, his equally distorted self making an appearance.

"Oh. Hey, you're back," Tails replied. Then, frowning, he asked, "Why am I here this time?"

Mysterious Voice #2's image shifted a bit, his fuzzy image sharpening slightly. Tails saw that he was wearing some sort of black robe and a hood which completely concealed his face, looking slightly portly with a blob on his back that looked like a tail.

Mysterious Voice #1 shrugged. He wore a similar black robe and hood and was taller. /**Ehh... looks like this is a private moment... I'll see ya later bro!/ **And with that, he disappeared.

"Huh?" Was Tails' only reply, staring into the blankness of the Void where Mysterious Voice #1 vanished into. Mysterious Voice #2 cleared his voice.

/_**You know, back then?**_/ he started, looking in Tails' direction. /_**You were able to get by with just scarred knees and an injured tail./**_

Tails looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean, 'back then?'" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mysterious Voice #2's image shuffled a bit, the odd-looking tail swishing up and down slowly. /_**You don't remember that time?**_/ he asked sincerely.

Tails' eyes widened. "What do you mean by 'that time'?" he asked irritably. "What about now? What about you? Who-"

Mysterious Voice #2 shook his hazy, hooded head and interrupted him mid-sentence. /_**Don't you worry about me, you need to worry about yourself,/**_ he said simply. Silence ensued briefly until the figure spoke again. /_**Can you get up? Can you at least move?**_/ he asked softly.

Disregarding his irritation towards the foggy specter, Tails contemplated that question. After a while he looked to Mysterious Voice #2. "I think so..." he said with uncertainty. "But... How do I move?"

Mysterious Voice #2 laughed. /_**Silly! Just think of moving and your body will react!**_/ he exclaimed with mirth in his child-like voice.

Noticing he was laying on some sort of surface, Tails tried to raise himself up. The Void started to rumble slightly as Tails heard a voice echo through the area.

"Oh! He's alive! Thank goodness..." A female voice echoed.

/_**See? Take it easy now, you'll be up in a bit,**_/ Mysterious Voice #2 sounded out.

"Hey! Hello!" The soft voice sounded throughout The Void once again with more volume.

Tails fell back onto what he considered the floor and his eyes started to close, his mind beginning to regain consciousness. The Mysterious Voice started to fade out slowly. Before he left, Tails called out to him.

"Who are you? Give me a name at least..." he asked, his mind slowly returning him to reality.

The indistinct, robed figure turned around, thinking as The Void disappeared. /_**Selim. Call me... Selim**_/ he said.

Then, Tails' eyes closed and everything went black until he awoke again...

"Hey! Hello?! Please say something!" a voice cried out.

----------------------------------------

Tails groggily opened his eyes. Pain shot throughout his back, legs and tails. Blinking, he saw a young woman with green hair with rose-bud ornaments on them watching him, concerned.

'_Green hair? Where have I seen that before..._' Tails thought to himself. '_And those hair ornaments look familiar too..._'

He tested parts of his body to see if anything was broken. So far the only serious injury was his twin tails underneath him, damaged enough so that he could not fly for a while. He sighed. The woman sighed with relief.

"You OK?" she asked, softly. Tails recognized the voice too... the soft voice he heard not too long ago...

Noticing she was waiting for an answer, Tails nodded. The woman sighed in relief.

"That's a relief..." she murmured, moving back a bit so Tails would have a bit of breathing room. "This is a church in the Sector 5 Slums, near the security barrier that leads to the outside," she explained.

Tails turned his head to get a better look at the woman. He already recognized the green hair and rosebud ornaments. She had a very beautiful, pale face and sky-blue eyes and wore a white blouse and dress, a green coat and a brown belt with a metal rod sticking out of the back. She sat on her knees which rested on a large patch of dirt. Her hands, pale as her face, were covered in it.

"You know," the woman started, shifting slightly. "You really gave me a scare. I heard two crashes above me and then you fell here..." she paused and smiled at him. "Lucky for you, the roof and the flower bed here broke your fall."

Tails' eyes widened. "Is this... your flower bed?" he asked hesitantly.

She simply nodded, smiling.

Rustling was heard and the woman started to laugh. Tails righted himself and scratched the back of his head, his tails lying limp on the ground, hidden in the flowers.

"Sorry about the flowers..." he apologized to the woman.

She shook her head. "It's OK," she said, looking around the flower bed. "This church is a sacred place, that's why they can grow so strong here in Megapolis. It's my favorite place in the whole world..." she closed her eyes for a moment, before speaking again. "You know, they say that you can't grow grass or flowers here. But these flowers have no trouble blooming. Weird isn't it?" she asked, smiling. Then, she stood up and brushed her dress off. Tails noticed that her dress was shaped almost like flower petals.

'_Flowers... flower hair ornaments... flower petal dress... flower-girl..._' Suddenly, realization hit Tails. '_I can't believe it! It's the flower girl I met right after my first mission..._' he thought, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

The flower girl noticed the look on Tails' face. '_Heh, knew he'd come around and recognize me... He's as slow as _he_ was back then..._' she thought. Realizing she thought of a painful memory, she shook her head lightly and knelt down to tend to her flowers.

Tails walked up to her, a tiny smile gracing his lips. He had no clue why he felt so happy to see her... He only just met her...

"Was this just mere coincidence?" he asked himself softly, as he approached her.

The flower girl turned around, overhearing what he said. "Maybe it was? Who knows? But we meet again, nevertheless..." she said mysteriously. '_Almost like it was fated that we meet again.._' she thought. Resisting the urge to say that out loud, she put on her most innocent face and looked at Tails. "You don't remember me, do you?" she asked, sky-blue eyes wide with curiosity.

Tails smirked. He decided out of nowhere to mess with the flower girl's head a bit. "Yeah, I remember you," he started out. He was clueless as to why he was acting this way... It just felt natural to him at the time. He shook his head to clear that thought and smirked again. "You're the local town drunk!" he exclaimed seriously, crossing his arms.

The flower girl's eyes widened. '_Oho, I see how it is..._' she thought. '_He's trying to mess with my mind... exactly like how _he _did when we first met..._' She narrowed her eyes and her brows furrowed as she leaned forward slightly, as though she was lecturing a child and placed her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks out cutely. "How dare you!" she shouted at mock-exasperation.

Tails shook his head as a chuckle escaped from his mouth. "I'm sorry, I was just kidding," he said, thinking the flower girl got mad at him. "I really do remember you, you're the flower girl who sold me those flowers, right?" he asked.

A small smile graced the lips of the pretty flower girl. She straightened herself up and clasped her hands merrily, as though the little exchanged never happened. "I'm so happy you remembered!" she exclaimed joyfully. "Thanks for buying my flowers." '_I'll get you back for messing with my mind, you'll see,_' she thought deviously as she shot him an innocent smile.

Tails nodded. "No problem," he said casually. He winced as he unconsciously attempted to raise a tail. It was bleeding slowly, the shrapnel digging deeper into his appendages. Talking to the flower girl made him forget his pains, he realized.

The flower girl gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in fright as she saw the injured tails. "Oh my gosh!" she shouted, pupils dilated, pointing her other hand at Tails' bloody namesakes. "Your tails are bleeding! Let me fix those up for you!" Quickly running up the pews, she dashed to the right wall and pulled out a first-aid kit. Sprinting back to the fox, she narrowed her eyes and berated herself, as she forced Tails to sit. She opened the case, finding gauze and cleaning instruments and went to work. '_How could I have been so dense..._' she scolded to herself. '_He's just standing here, bleeding from his tails and... yet he acts SO much like him... Why? Could this be related to that strange feeling I had the day of the bombing, last night?_'

She kept contemplating, while tending to the surprised kitsune's tails, who had no clue as to what was happening. A beautiful, mysterious, Interbred girl was treating his injuries. And her hands felt strangely familiar; he could feel a slight connection with her, almost like the first time they met after the first mission. He felt strangely relaxed, for reasons completely unknown to him...

After a while, she stopped, wrapping the last of the gauze on the final wound and stood up. "I usually have this kit for myself whenever I get injured pulling weeds out or tripping on the loose floorboards of the church," she said, fixing her green locks and looking around the church. "Despite it's looks, it's very decrepit. I'm probably the only one who comes here anymore."

Tails looked to her, nodding, and stood up himself. Even though the bleeding stopped, moving his tails proved to be slightly difficult. '_Hmm... I'll have to wait till they heal up... that's gonna take some time, possibly a few days, maximum two weeks, give or take,_' he concluded, wrapping them around his waist while keeping his eyes on the girl.

The flower girl's eyebrows suddenly rose in surprise, her eyes locking onto Tails' orbs. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, looking completely surprised. "How rude of me, we don't even know each others names do we?" she said, pointing to herself.

"I'm Cosmo, the flower girl," the green haired beauty introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."

Striking a pose, Tails introduced himself. "I'm Tails," he said cockily. "Me? I do a little bit of everything."

'_Why on earth did I say that?_' Tails pondered as he saw the girl, Cosmo, giggle softly. '_I'm not usually like this... what's going on?_'

Cosmo smiled at the kitsune. "Ohhh... like a Jack of All Trades?" she asked. Tails nodded.

"Hmm... I see," she spoke with her head bowed, flattening the creases on her white petal dress. She then rose her head and looked at Tails, a question burning in his eyes.

"Say, Tails," she began. "Do you have any Emeralds?" she asked politely.

Tails rose an eyebrow, then took out the Ice Emerald in his armor slot and showed it to her. "Yeah, I got a few, why'd you ask?" he inquired.

Cosmo shuffled her feet, looking demurely at Tails. "Well, I have this special Emerald," she said softly, pointing at her brooch. Set in the middle of it, was a small, white Emerald. "My mother gave it to me when I was very young."

"What does it do?" Tails asked curiously.

"Nothing really," she answered simply, placing her hand upon the amber ornament.

Tails shrugged. "You probably just don't know how to use it." he said.

"I do!" Cosmo said huffily, hands on her hips. "It... just doesn't DO anything. I felt safe just having it close to me.."

"Hmm... I see," Tails said, smiling slightly. "Nowadays, you can find Emeralds anywhere."

Cosmo giggled again. "And I suppose you know where to find some, Mr. Jack-of-all-Trades?" she asked slyly.

"Huh?" was Tails' only answer. The poor girl couldn't take it anymore, she burst out in a fit of giggles. "Hey! What's so funny?" he asked as he reattached the Ice Emerald into his armor slot.

"N-nothing!" she said, giggling. "I just-"

But before she could finish, a loud banging noise was heard at the front of the church. The doors were flung wide open, and a Mobian waltzed inside. He was a purpleish-blue furred weasel, wearing a brown fedora, his ears sticking out, brown leather boots and a black, sleeveless jacket with two silver insignias sown on the front. On his waist were two holsters, each holding a semi-automatic pistol. His eyes were a deep shade of amber and a large, dark purple, X-shaped tattoo along the bridge of his muzzle. He grinned at the two standing near the flower patch, his teeth, pointy and vicious.

He tipped his hat to the two, speaking in a very thick, foreign accent. "'Ello, mates," he said. "Don' mind me, jus passing by, wanted to stop and see the church, eh?" He grinned as he looked in Cosmo's direction. She shivered.

"Tails," she whispered, not breaking eye contact with the weasel. "Have you ever been a bodyguard? You DO everything and anything, right?

Tails nodded. "Never been a bodyguard, but I can try right?" he said.

Cosmo broke eye contact and looked at Tails. "Then take me home, get me out of here, please?" she pleaded, her eyes looking directly into his.

Tails nodded again, "OK, but it'll cost you," he said.

Cosmo smiled faintly. "OK, how about I go out with you once," she offered. Tails smirked.

"Deal," he said as he turned to the newcomer.

'_...Clearly, it seems to me... that things will never be the same again..._' he thought.

End Chapter

A/N: Well, there's Chapter 11! Hope you guys enjoyed it, because I sure did! I realized nobody reviewed Chapter 10 yet... Was it THAT bad people? I'm just kidding. I know everyone's busy for the holidays and that you don't have time to read the story, it's OK though. But I really do want to know what you guys thought about it? I was feeling bad for a couple days before popping the 10th out, so I didn't give an explanation on some things. Regarding Bark's Limit, I wanted to be more realistic about it instead of having a big ball of energy emerging from out of nowhere, so I used the Grenade Launcher as the first limit instead. I hope my description of the launcher was adequate enough; I'm not so big on guns and stuff, I'm more of a sword guy. :P. The whole point of the 10th chapter was to put Tails' flying ability out of commission for a few chapters, because if he could fly, it would complicate things and he wouldn't meet Cosmo like this. Besides, it's good for the hero to be handicapped with something, it provides more depth :D. But don't worry he'll fly again, just not soon. Haha, yeah I put Nack as Reno and instead of an electro-mag, he has guns. AND has an Aussie accent, (I KNOW I'm gonna get burned for this). I always wanted to write a character with an Austrialian accent. I think Austrailian accents are really fun to play with. Heck, he even has a fedora :D. Indianna Jones anybody? But Nack's more than just comic relief, you'll see why in the next chapter. Speaking of which...

Chapter 12 Preview:

Tails and Cosmo are stuck in a bit of a predicament. A stranger approaches with Kintobor MP's demanding Cosmo. Who's this stranger? What is GUN? And how are Tails and Cosmo going to get out of this, especially when Tails is injured? Find out next time! (Or just click on the next chapter, your choice :P)

We'll talk more next chapter. See ya in a bit! -Zonic


	12. Special Forces GUN: Chaotix Unit

A/N: Well here we are ladies and gents, part two of my update! I hope everyone's stoked for this chapter! I just hope nobody minds all the line breaks. That was the main problem with this chapter. GUN is introduced in this chapter as the Turks. To tie it in with the whole Mobian vs. Human situation, I made two units. You can probably guess who's gonna be in the Chaotix unit right off the bat :P. And also, Cosmo actually gets to fight! Since Tails wasn't smart enough to give her some Emeralds, she's gonna go one on one with her enemies! Since she's an Interbred girl living in the slums, it makes sense for her to be of OK strenght; nowhere NEAR Tails' or Cream's but enough to kick some serious tail. Also, from last chapter, I told you guys that Nack is more than just comic relief; he's a wicked sharpshooter and you'll see why later in the chapter.

Another thing to mention is that on the rafters, there are actually supposed to be some monsters lurking around. I changed it to have Robians lurking instead. Monsters won't come into play until a bit later, but you'll see them soon.

OK, enough rambling. Heres Chapter 12, get ready to delve into my world! (Ha! Got it to rhyme this time!)

Chapter 12: Special Forces: GUN: Chaotix Unit.

Tails narrowed his eyes at the weasel. "Listen pal, I don't know who you are, but you better-" He stopped mid-sentence as he observed the insignias emblazoned on the jacket.

The first one was decorated with two silver wings with navy- blue trim, the letters GUN written in the middle. Beneath it was a smaller plate that bore in black lettering, Chaotix Unit.

Suddenly, Tails placed a hand on his head, his mind reeling from information... Information regarding this strange Mobian and those two symbols.

He narrowed his eyes at the stranger as Cosmo stood behind him. "I know what you are," he said, in a soft voice.

The intruder's grin intensified. "Really mate?" he chuckled in his odd accent. Suddenly, his face straightened. "Then I don't need to fool around anymore."

He then snapped his fingers and several MP's entered the church, all Mobian, laughing. The stranger then looked at Cosmo, smiling again.

"Hey sis, you sure picked up a weird bloke," he said, pointing at the kitsune. "He's got two tails and everything!"

"Shut it! Kintobor spy!" Tails spat angrily, reaching behind his back to pull out his sword... but grasping nothing...

He cursed under his breath. '_Shit... The Buster Sword's missing... It must be somewhere nearby, since I remember the sword went through the building before I did... It must be on the rafters._' he hypothesized.

"Tsk, Tsk," The weasel tutted, shaking his head. "What's wrong mate? Gotta scratch your back or somethin'?" Pulling out his pistols, he gave Tails a level-headed stare, observing his Mako eyes for the first time.

'_Crikey... He from SOLDIER or somethin'?_' he thought as he watched the shining eyes. '_I better report this to the Boss when I get the filly back..._' He turned his attention to his guns, pretending to inspect them. "Name's Nack Fang. Member of GUN, Chaotix Unit," he said with a toothy grin. "Pleasure meeting you... Though it might be your last fox-boy."

"Hey Nack!" A Boar-Bear crossbreed Mobian soldier snorted, his trigger finger itchy. "Want him taken out?" he asked.

"Crikey mate," Nack said exasperatedly. "I haven't even decided yet, let me think it through first!"

While Nack was busy talking to his soldiers, Cosmo stepped closer to Tails. "There's an exit in the back, we can use it to get to the roofs and escape from the hole you made when you fell through," she whispered in his ear. Tails nodded.

Cosmo stepped away and shouted out loud. "Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers if you do!" And with that, she took Tails' hand and ran to the back of the church. The MP's and Nack were completely taken by surprise.

Nack quickly shook off his surprise. Holstering his guns, he stepped forward into the flower patch, crushing some of the beautiful yellow and white flora with his boots. "Those were Mako eyes alright," he whispered. Shaking his head, he turned to his troops. "OK you lot, back to work all of you! Don't let them get away, hear me?" he ordered, turning around and continuing his walk to the back. Remembering something in mid-step, he turned to face his soldiers and spoke again. "Oi! And don't you blokes step on these flowers!!" There was silence for a bit... before the guards started to laugh loudly.

"Nack, you just stepped on them!" one of the soldiers said.

"They're all ruined," the Boar-Bear soldier cried out.

"You're gonna catch holy hell, Nack sir!" the third one yelled.

Realization hit Nack as he looked to his feet. "Oops..." he mumbled.

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"Come on, this way," Cosmo said as she and Tails traversed the ruined church's back room. It was a large room, mainly for accessing the rafters above with what used to be a set of stairs leading to a basement below. Age, vandalism and neglect made getting to the roof a difficult task. At the far corner of the room, a pillar smashed parts of the walkway, making direct travel to the staircase impossible.

Tails, led on by Cosmo, who knew the church like the back of her hand, walked around the left hand side of room, until they reached the pillar. Cosmo then carefully walked down the pillar and jumped to the somewhat ruined stairs. Tails followed suit.

"You sure know your way around this place," Tails remarked. Cosmo smiled.

"Yeah well... you should know your surroundings, right?" she replied. "Come on let's hurry."

Reaching the top of the stairs, they realized that part of the upper path was destroyed by the pillar as well. A long gap separated Tails and Cosmo from the rooftops.

At that moment, Nack and his soldiers entered the room. " Streuth! They're over here mates!" he yelled out. The soldiers aimed their guns at the flower girl. "Don't shoot you morons! What if you hit her eh?" Nack scolded as he drew out his guns. "I'll take care of this meself."

On top, Cosmo spotted Nack entering the room. "Tails, look! He's back again!" she cried.

Tails cursed. "Damnit, looks like were not gonna get out of this easily..." he said.

Cosmo looked to Tails. "What should we do?" she asked, glancing down towards Nack. Who was drawing his guns.

"Only one thing we CAN do," was Tails' reply. And with that, he jumped over the gap to the other side, effortlessly.

"Come on Cosmo! Jump!" Tails called out on the other side. Cosmo peered over the gap and then shook her head vehemently.

"I can't jump that far!" she yelled, glaring at him.

Tails sighed. '_Sheez... Of COURSE she can't jump that..._' he thought. "OK, I'll jump back across and I'll take you with me, you alright with that?" he hollered to her.

"Yeah, OK!" Cosmo called back. "Please hurry though! I don't wanna get caught by these guys!"

Below them, Nack aimed his pistols at the weak supports holding the walkway on Cosmo's side and fired two shots each. The bullets went through the supports, splintering them and causing a portion of the walkway to break off.

Cosmo screamed as the walkway broke. Landing on the pillar, she slid down to the basement area. Nack swore.

"SHIT! Alright you blokes, spread out and find the girl!" he ordered. " You know what'll happen if she's injured do ya?" The soldiers nodded stiffly. "Alright then, git to it!" he shouted. The grunts fanned out and searched the area.

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"Oww... that was some fall," Cosmo muttered as she rose from the ground. Luckily, she wasn't injured in any way. Looking around, she found that she could get out from the doorway in front of her. Inconveniently however, an MP emerged from in front, spotting her.

"Haha! Found you, girlie!" The soldier sneered. He hesitated however. '_How am I supposed to capture her? I can't knock her out, even if she is a freak..._' he thought angrily. '_What's so important about a single Interbred, they're nothing but trash!_'

"Tails! Help!" Cosmo cried out while the grunt was debating with himself.

Up above, Tails heard Cosmo's voice. "Phew, she's OK," he said to no one in particular. '_How do I help her though, I don't have my sword, I'm in no condition to use magic, think man, THINK!_' he thought. Looking above him he saw his answer. Tails smirked and called out to Cosmo. "I got an idea! Just hold him off for a second!"

Hearing an OK from Cosmo, Tails raced up to the rafters quickly. Up top, there were four barrels sitting at the back of the room. Tails ran to one, grabbed a barrel and set to work. Deducing the coordinates of the soldier's and Cosmo's locations in his head, he positioned himself accordingly and dropped the barrel. "Head's up Cosmo!" he shouted.

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The soldier decided to go ahead and knock out the girl despite his orders not to harm her. He became enraged from the fact that an Interbred held more importance than a Mobian. Before he could strike however, the barrel that Tails threw was rolling down the stairs and it collided with the soldier, instantly knocking him out cold. Cosmo moved out of the way as the grunt hit the ground hard.

Cosmo smiled up at Tails. "Thanks!" she cheered, as she ascended the stairs. She didn't get far when the sounds of metallic joints and hissing were heard above her...

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Tails smirked as he heard the barrel collide with the MP below him. '_That should keep her safe for a while..._' he thought. Looking around, he saw a familiar glint; his sword, embedded halfway into a support. Sighing with relief, he walked up to his blade when his sharp hearing picked up familiar scratching and hissing noises. He narrowed his eyes.

"Robians," Tails muttered.

All at once, metallic figures crashed through the stained glass windows of the church and landed on the rafters. They were miniature in size with spines on their backs, eyes glowing an eerie red. One opened a compartment in the palm of its hand and shot out a blast of fire towards Tails.

Tails dashed and hid behind his blade, the width of it protecting him from the flames. When they subsided, he quickly drew his sword and slashed the closest one. The blade only nicked it, not fully destroying it.

Tails finally took a look at the Robians facing him. "Hedgehogs?" he questioned. Suddenly his head began to buzz painfully. He saw images in his head; images of a mysterious spiky-haired... someone, holding HIS sword. Before he could figure out what the images meant, another fire blast struck Tails, singeing his fur and burning him slightly, making him focus on the battle before him. Recovering, Tails placed his hand on the Lightning Emerald on his sword, trying to concentrate his energy into a single blast. "BOLT!" he called out and several streams of lightning shot out of his fingers, hitting the Robians in front and creating an explosion. When the dust settled, Tails gaped. The Robians were just fine.

"Crap, it doesn't have much of an effect this time, must have some sort of enhanced insulation. And that was the only shot I could make in my condition," he remarked, remembering the fall. He put himself into a fighting stance. "Looks like I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way then."

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Cosmo saw the bolts of lightning impact the Robians above and having little effect on them. Hurriedly, she ran to the next set of stairs, only to be blocked by another soldier.

"Tails! Now would be a good time to use another barrel!" she yelled out.

All she heard was 'Kinda busy right now,' from Tails. She sighed.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to take care of you myself," she said to the soldier. He laughed.

"You? Take ME out?" he questioned skeptically, then burst into laughter. "When those Human pigs fly!"

Cosmo grinned, pulling out her retractable rod and pressing a button, extending it. "Don't ever underestimate anyone living in the slums," she said confidently. "ESPECIALLY an Interbred girl!"

She quickly dashed towards the startled guard and swung her rod hard, hitting the MP in the shin. Howling in pain, he hopped around, trying desperately to hit Cosmo. A solid hit to the groin and several severe hits to the face afterwards knocked the soldier out cold. Twirling her rod and retracting it, she brushed her self off and sighed.

"I warned you, thats all I'm gonna say," she said, as she continued upward. She was almost blocked off by another soldier, until a barrel plummeted and landed on top of his head. The soldier mumbled something and fell down the stairs. Looking up, she saw Tails, bruised and burned, hefting his sword on his shoulder. Cosmo's eyes widened.

'_That sword!_' she thought fearfully. '_Only ONE person I know has a sword like that! It can't be..._' she calmed down a bit as she traversed up the stairs after thanking Tails once more. '_Perhaps Tails knows what happened to him..._' she hypothesized as she reached the gap between her and the rafters. '_I have to find out... what happened to my boyfriend._'

Tails jumped across, Buster Sword once again strapped to his back and together with Cosmo, jumped across once more and ran up to the rafters, now Robian-free.

Below them, Nack was disappointed at his soldiers. "Damn, didn't know it would be THIS hard to get the filly," he muttered. "I COULD shoot her... but then she'd be injured, and then I'd have my head up my ass for a week straight, crikey..." He placed his hand on his face and rubbed his muzzle. "Damn Boss, and his damn, bloody orders..." He looked up and saw Cosmo and Tails escape to the main room of the church. Running quickly, he saw a glimpse of a white flower petal dress escaping from a hole in the ceiling. Nack narrowed his eyes.

"Crap," he cursed, kicking the dirt below him, before turning around to find his soldiers and turn in his report...

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On the roof, Cosmo and Tails looked down into the church, where they saw Nack go back to the back room to retrieve his soldiers. They shared a laugh.

"Hah, these things never get old..." Cosmo commented with a smile. Tails rose an eyebrow.

"Never get old? This isn't the first time this happened?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied.

Tails stared up to the metal plate hovering above their heads. Only a while ago, he was up there, battling it out with an E-series robot with Bark and Cream. And now he was here, with this strange, mysterious Interbred that made him act and feel strange whenever she talked or touched him. Finally, he spoke.

"That guy with the symbols on his jacket," he said. "He's a member of GUN Special Forces. There are two units," he explained. Cosmo, picking up interest in the subject, followed along.

"The main unit is called the Gem Unit, which consists of pure Humans. Basically they're like Kintobor's aides; doing special top secret missions for him or assisting him in the fields of science and technology. The other, much more known unit, is the Chaotix Unit. Consists of Mobians and maybe some Humans, they do the actual dirty jobs, like spying, murder and other stuff. Their main job however is to scout out potential SOLDIER candidates," Tails finished. "That guy back there, he's from the Chaotix Unit." He turned to look at her closely. "But why are they after you?" he asked.

Cosmo just shrugged. "I dunno," she said, slightly avoiding contact with Tails' eyes. "Maybe they think I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER?" she said and smiled at him.

Tails smirked. "What? You wanna join or something?" he asked, humor in his voice.

Cosmo rolled her eyes. "Maybe," she said sarcastically. "But there's no way I wanna be caught by those guys..."

Tails stood up suddenly and held out his hand to Cosmo. "Then? Let's get outta here," he exclaimed.

Cosmo nodded and took his hand. "Right!" she said. Inwardly though, she sighed. '_You both are so alike... Who are you Tails?_' she thought as they left the church behind and traversed on the mountains of junk leading into Sector 5.

End Chapter

A/N: And there you have it! Hope you enjoyed your little present people! This was a fun chapter to write, especially Cosmo's fight. So, who do you guys think is her boyfriend huh:P (I have another feeling I'm gonna get burned again...) Cosmo's really plagued by the thoughts of her boyfriend's predicament, yet is captivated by Tails and his... striking personality. :D. These plus her interactions with Cream are gonna make things really complicated and really hilarious in the future! It seems also that she's hiding something from Tails... Who knows?

GUN has a pretty big role in the story, so watch for them later on. Those guys are gonna be fun to write.

Heheh. Even though Tails is pretty intelligent, hes not ALWAYS that smart (He should know that those Robians were weak against Ice, you would say). He wasn't really thinking straight due to his injuries. I mean, if you were fighting against robotic organisims with injured tails and everything, the first thing you'd think of is blasting it with lightning, right? As well, it seems Tails' visions are getting stronger and stronger everyday. Things are getting more mysterious than ever!

Now for the preview of the next chapter!

Chapter 13 Preview

Escaping the clutches of GUN, Cosmo and Tails journey through the Megapolis Pits; the foulest part of the city and home to the majority of the Mobian population. After some brief encounters with bandits and a strange Mobian with a tattoo on his hand, they travel to Cosmo's house, where Cosmo's mother tells Tails to sneak out in the dead of night! What's going to happen next? Find out next time!

Well, that's that ladies and gentlemen. Have a Merry After-Christmas everybody. And Happy New Year to you as well! -Zonic

Edit: Ri2 saved my ass lol. Nack's a weasel, not a coyote! Silly me...


	13. The Megapolis Pits

**A/N:** Woah... Sorry for the late update folks! Things just kinda got difficult once the New Year started. Happy New Year to everyone by the way :P. I had a serious case of writer's block while writing this... And I still kinda have to work out some kinks in the story. I'll explain all this at the end. Anyway, new chapter is up today! I'm starting to slowly get to the good parts of the story. Cosmo's getting to be a LOT more mysterious every time I write her... And a new character is introduced here, squint and you'll see him! Plus, Mysterious Voice #2 gives us a name! Finally:D So Enjoy Chapter 13! Just... make sure the excitement doesn't rupture your spleen... :D

Chapter 13: The Megapolis Pits

Tails hopped from junk pile to junk pile with ease, hardly breaking a sweat in doing so. He didn't realize that he was going to fast for Cosmo to catch up.

"Hey Tails!" she called from far behind. "Wait! I SAID wait!!"

Tails stopped at a pile and waited for Cosmo to catch up. Unlike him, she was taking her time with the jumps. Tails amused himself by watching her jump.

"One, two, three, go!" she counted to herself as jumped from pile to pile. She didn't want to slip and injure herself in anyway, nor did she want her dress ruined either.

Finally after a few minutes she caught up to Tails, completely breathless.

"Huff... Huff... Slow... Down..." she panted, bending forward and resting her hands on her knees. "You're... going too... fast... Don't... leave me behind... Phew..."

Tails smirked at her. "Funny," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?"

Cosmo rose herself up and glared at Tails. "Ohhh! You're so mean you know that?" she said in frustration. After a few seconds of glaring at each other, they both entered a fit of laughter, Tails chuckling, Cosmo giggling.

Cosmo was the first to stop however. She looked to Tails, more importantly, into his eyes. "Hey Tails?" she called to him. He looked in her direction, letting her know he had her full attention.

"Were you... ever in SOLDIER?" she asked tentatively.

Tails looked at her seriously for a moment, then answered. "Yeah I was, how did you guess?" he asked.

'_Because my boyfriend has the same glow in his eyes that you have, not to mention he has the same sword,_' she ruminated. Keeping that answer deep within the confines of her mind, she looked at Tails, avoiding his eyes. "Well... it's your eyes," she started. "They have a strange glow to them."

Tails' brows rose. "The glowing eyes are a mark of SOLDIER, a sign of those infused with pure Mako." he explained. "But how did you know about that?" he asked.

Cosmo looked away from Tails. "...Oh... Nowhere really... I just heard it somewhere," she said.

Tails' face became neutral, then rose a single brow skeptically. "Nowhere?" he asked.

"Yeah, nowhere Tails, don't worry," she said, hoping to kill his curiosity. "I just heard it in passing, ok? Now let's get going, Bodyguard!" she exclaimed, jumping to the next pile.

"Hmm... Alright then," Tails said. '_I get the feeling she's hiding something... It's her business though, I shouldn't intrude,_' he thought as he followed Cosmo onto the main Sector 5 path.

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Jumping down from a broken pillar, Cosmo brushed herself off, Tails standing beside her. Looking to her left and right for any dangers, she walked up the path. "My house is further up, in the small residential slum ahead," she explained, pointing further up in the path. "Let's get there quickly before that Nack guy comes back, or worse, Robians or bandits attack us."

"Bandits?" Tails asked as he followed her.

"Yeah," she replied as they kept walking. "This place and Sector 6 aren't exactly the nicest places in Megapolis. These two sectors are known as the Megapolis Pits, the area where most Mobians make their home at. Sad thing is, people who live here have very little or no money at all and getting a job here is extremely difficult, much less a job with good pay. There's almost no funding going here at all because of the president, and his views on Mobians and Interbreds. Because of that, people here resort to stealing to get money, or even food. It's hard living in this area, harder for me still since I'm ... an Interbred." she said solemnly, but smiled once more. "But it's not so bad you know? Sector 5 is a bit of a haven for Interbreds, Sector 6 however is a different story altogether." Suddenly, they reached a fork in the road and Cosmo gasped. "Wow! We're already here?" she exclaimed, surprised. "And we didn't even run into any bandits either... Lucky us, huh Tails?"

"Yeah, lucky us in-," Tails suddenly stopped talking as his ears perked up, sensing something. He heard shuffling close by. Cosmo stared at Tails, wearing a startled expression on her face.

"Tails? What's going on?" she asked worriedly. '_I knew it was too good to be true..._' she thought dejectedly.

"We got company," Tails said, drawing his armament. And with that, two Mobians, a Lizard and a Frog, wearing rags for clothing, jumped out from their hiding spots, only to face Tails and the Buster Sword.

"Hi fellas," Tails said in a calm, even tone, his blade pointed at the two bandits. "How're ya doin' today?"

The bandits were scared stiff. They didn't know what they feared more; the giant, fearsome sword or the equally fearsome, two-tailed fox warrior wielding it. Tails' eyes literally bored into their souls, glowing ice blue piercing their fearful ones. They couldn't take any more of it; they bolted, screaming at the top of their lungs, running as far away from the kitsune as possible.

Tails relaxed and sheathed his weapon. "That takes care of that," he said simply. Cosmo grinned.

"Nice job scaring the pants off those guys Tails!" she exclaimed, taking the right fork in the road. "Come one, town's this way, let's go."

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The residential slum of Sector 5 was in worse condition compared to the one Sector 7. The housing consisted of decrepit, old shacks and crumbled remains of buildings. As Tails and Cosmo walked around, they saw and felt the depressed and hopeless expressions given off by the Mobians living there. They walked up the dirty road, passing a large tube with lights coming out of it. Cosmo stopped and peered inside.

"Tails, come here for a sec?" she asked the two tailed fox.

"What's up?" he questioned. Cosmo pointed into the tube.

"This guy in here's really sick," she explained. "He keeps mumbling about some gibberish of some sort... I and the other residents have been taking care of him, but it's not enough. And we don't have the money to afford a doctor," she looked to Tails, concerned. "Can you take a look at him, please?" she pleaded.

Tails thought for a while, then nodded to Cosmo. "I'll try," he said. "I'm no doctor, but it can't hurt, right?"

Beaming, Cosmo went inside the pipe, Tails following. Inside was a Raccoon Mobian, his head lolling about, drool creeping out of his mouth, muttering incoherent words. As he was examining him, Tails caught a few of the words he was saying. Frowning, he turned to Cosmo.

"I don't think there's anything we can do for him," he said, shaking his head. "He keeps muttering something about a 'Reunion' or something along those lines."

Cosmo sighed. "Oh well, at least we tried," she remarked, staring sadly at the raccoon, when something caught her eye. "Hm? What's that on his left hand?" she asked, pointing to the aforementioned limb.

Tails picked it up and inspected the wrist. There was an image of the number II tattooed onto the hand. The ink was so potent that it seeped into the hair follicles of the raccoon's wrist, tinting the fur and making it visible. "The number II is tattooed on his wrist," Tails noted. "Interesting..."

Pondering about this a while longer, Cosmo shook her head, her flower blossoms swaying in her green hair. "Well, I guess there's nothing else we can do, we better go," she said sadly. The two left the tube, not without Cosmo whispering a 'Take care' to the raccoon as they left.

After they left, the raccoon suddenly rose and looked up to the ceiling of his home, speaking the first coherent sentence he said in a long time.

"The... Reunion... Begins..."

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"Come on, it's just around this bend," Cosmo said as they moved to the back of the slum. They stopped by what looked to be a destroyed bus acting as a house before realizing that it was a shop. Tails bought a piece of new armor for himself and some extra goods, since all of his items were lost in the fall. As they rounded the bend Cosmo mentioned, Tails saw what looked to be rays of orange sunshine shining on the path he walked. Looking up he saw the incomplete parts of Sector 5, acting like holes in the ceiling, allowing minimal sunlight to pass through.

'_Hmmm... That's why the sun can shine down here..._' Tails thought. However, his thoughts were blown away from the next sight he saw.

In front of him was a lovely house, with a red roof and two stories. Beyond it were green shrubs, plant life of several kinds, growing around it. Tails' eyes widened.

"This is incredible," he mumbled. Cosmo caught what he said.

"Yeah, I know," she said, cheeks turning pink. "I get that all the time, it really is beautiful."

But Tails wasn't paying attention to her, his sharp vision catching a sight of glowing purple in one of the bushes. He reached into it, ignoring Cosmo's glare, and pulled out a small, purple Emerald. His eyes brightened as he showed it to Cosmo.

"Hmm... What do you know? An Emerald," he said, smirking. "I TOLD you, you can find Emeralds just about anywhere."

Cosmo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah Bodyguard," she exclaimed. "Let's go inside."

She ushered him into her house. It was a small, quaint looking home. To Tails' right was a simple kitchen with all the basic needs. To his left was the dining room with three chairs, presumably for Cosmo, her mother and her father. Beyond that was a wooden staircase spiraling up to the second floor. Bright, homely colours dominated the majority of the house, giving it a pleasant atmosphere.

Cosmo looked into the kitchen. "Mom, I'm home," she called out. A brown, squirrel woman in her late thirties, with greying hair and a green dress with a white apron walked down the stairs. She had vivid blue eyes and a soft profile and was smiling at Cosmo.

"Welcome home dear," she said, in a soothing and comforting voice.

_'She looks nothing like her mother... I shouldn't pry, it's none of my business,' _Tails thought as he looked at the Mobian. Cosmo's mother smiled at her daughter, but frowned upon seeing Tails. She sighed softly.

"Let me introduce you to my bodyguard, Tails," Cosmo said, introducing Tails to her mother. Clearly, she didn't hear her sigh.

"Bodyguard?" her mother questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You mean you were followed again by some weirdo!?" she exclaimed. She walked over and examined Cosmo closely. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" she asked, worried.

Cosmo took her mother's hand in her own gently and looked in her eyes. "I'm fine mother, don't worry," she reassured her. "I got home safely because I had Tails with me."

Cosmo's mother took her gaze away from her daughter and turned it hesitantly to the fox warrior. "Thank you Tails," she said tersely. She then walked into the kitchen.

Cosmo tilted her head in thought. '_Oh Mom... She thinks Tails is gonna sweep me off my feet like my boyfriend did when he brought me home..._' she surmised. She then turned towards Tails. "So what are you going to do now, Tails?" she asked.

Tails closed his eyes for a moment. He thought about Cream and Bark and wondered if they got away safely. He opened his eyes and looked to Cosmo. "Is Sector 7 close by? I want to return to my friend's bar, her name's Cream," he inquired.

Cosmo looked puzzled for a moment. "Sector 7? Yes, its not very far from here... But who's Cream?" she then looked at him slyly. "Is she your girlfriend?" she asked, grinning.

Tails widened his eyes. "Uh... No, we're just close... friends..." he said slowly, looking down on the floor.

Cosmo couldn't help but be shocked in Tails' attitude. Not only that, but his eyes were different. They looked less like her boyfriend's and that intrigued her. '_Who is he?_' she wondered as Tails reverted to his normal, stoic self. Her grin softened to a slight smile.

"Hm, I see," she said, running her hands through her hair. "Well, I know how to get to Sector 7, SO I'll just take you there myself." she said, smiling.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Tails protested. "You wanna put yourself in danger again?"

Cosmo put a finger to her cheek and thought. "Well, I'm used to it Tails, I DID grow up here," she remarked.

Tails rose an eyebrow. "Used to it?! You gotta be kidding me!" he exclaimed. He thought about it however and considered the fact that Cosmo would get him there faster if she lead him to Sector 7, rather than him finding it for himself. The sooner he got back, the better.

'_I still have to get my pay... plus Cream may be worried,_' he remembered. He looked again at Cosmo and frowned. "Well... I dunno... getting help from a girl..." he started.

Cosmo flashed him a very dangerous and very scary glare. "A girl!! What do you mean by that?!" she shouted heatedly. "If you think I'm just gonna sit here and look pretty after hearing you say something like that then you have another thing coming!" She stomped into the kitchen, where her mother was working, pretending not to hear her daughter's conversation with Tails. "Mother! I'm taking Tails to Sector 7. I'll be out for a while," she huffed, shooting another glare to a startled Tails.

_'Yeesh... I gotta learn to keep my mouth shut..._' thought Tails as he received another of Cosmo's glares.

Cosmo's mother sighed. "Oh Cosmo, I give up," she said exasperatedly. "You never listen once you made up your mind. But if you have to go, leave it for tomorrow, it's getting quite late."

Cosmo looked to the clock. It read 7:30 pm. She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right Mother," she said.

Cosmo's mother beamed. "Good, now go upstairs and make the bed in the guest room, will you?" she asked.

Cosmo nodded, shot another glare at Tails and then went upstairs. Tails sighed.

"Oh man, me and my big mouth," he mumbled to himself. Cosmo's mother came up to him.

"I want to thank you for keeping my daughter safe," she said. "My name is Rosie." She looked into his eyes. "You are from SOLDIER, aren't you?" she asked.

Tails nodded. "Yeah, well rather, I used to be," he replied.

Rosie sighed. "Then please, I want you to sneak out of here in the middle of the night, I don't want Cosmo to be exposed to more danger," she said. "I don't want to sound harsh, but if you stick around here much longer, you may drag her into something more dangerous than before and I don't want that, I'm sorry."

"I understand," Tails said. "I didn't want to get her involved anyway, it is too dangerous."

Rosie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said. "You're welcome to stay the night, but you must sneak out early, understand?"

Tails nodded, said thank you and walked up the stairs.

'_I probably should apologize,_' thought Tails as he climbed the stairs. '_I bet Cosmo's still really mad at me._'

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'_Oooh, that Tails!_' Cosmo ruminated as she made the bed in the guest room. '_I can't believe he said that!_' She suddenly sniffled. "It's the same thing my boyfriend said to me the first time we met... Oh where could he be? I thought I was over him, but Tails..." she mused to herself softly. "Something is not right about him, he acts just like my boyfriend... but that time when I asked him about that girl, Cream, being his girlfriend, he... he was different. What could it mean?"

She heard the floorboards creak as someone was coming up the stairs. Finishing what she was doing, Cosmo exited the room to see Tails climb up them.

"Hey, about before," Tails started, but Cosmo raised her hand and stopped him from talking.

"Don't worry about it, I know you're sorry Tails," she said smiling. "Sector 7 is just past Sector 6. It's a little on the dangerous side, so you should get some rest before then, OK?"

Tails closed his mouth and nodded. Cosmo beamed at him.

"OK, good night Tails," she said and went into her room. After she closed the door, she sunk down to the floor and frowned. _'If I want answers, maybe Tails' friend, Cream, can give them to me? It's worth a shot,_' she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Tails walked into the other room. He unlatched his sword and placed it on the wall along with his armor, then lay on the bed, hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.

"Oh man," Tails sighed. "Just what have I gotten myself into?"

----------------------------------------

Kintobor Inc. Egg Building: 65th Floor: Department of Urban Development: 10:30 pm M.S.T.

Christopher Thorndyke ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the large scale model of Megapolis. Placing flags around several points on the model, he studied his handiwork.

"Phew, This is really tiring," he said. "But at least development is going well. Sectors 1 and 8 have recovered greatly since the bombing, Areas around Sectors 4 and 5 have been repaired and power is restored throughout both the upper and lower sections. All that remains is the completion of the Sector 7 plate and that should be that." He turned to a gold robot sitting at one end of the circular room. It had bulbous, green eyes and had a crest shooting straight up and arching towards the back slightly. It's frame looked relatively thin but was very sturdy. Its mouth was a yellow protruding microphone, however, it lacked speech functions at the moment. It only responded on Chris's laptop, which was place on the table beside him.

Chris walked over to the laptop, then smiled at his companion's response. "You're saying I'm working too hard?" he asked the droid. Its eyes displayed different amounts of data, which showed up onto the laptop monitor in plain English. "Hah, you wouldn't be saying that just because you want me to work on your voice modulator would you?" he asked again. Suddenly his cellphone rang.

"Wonder who it could be?" he wondered out loud. Pressing the talk button, he answered professionally. "Department of Urban Development, Christopher Thorndyke speaking. Yes. Yes. Oh! Yes sir! ... What? Um... Alright sir, right away." Chris hung up and turned to his robot.

"Seems they want me to develop an Emergency Plate Release System... but why?" he asked the metal droid.

The droid could only tilt its head in wonder about the very question its master asked...

----------------------------------------

The Void

/**...You seem pretty tired.**/

Tails gasped as the whiteness of the void beheld itself to him once more. He noticed he was lying on some unfamiliar surface. Looking down at him was Mysterious Voice #1, wearing his ever present dark robe and hood, completely enshrouding his face and features. The only thing Tails could absolutely tell was that he was taller than the other Mysterious Voice, Selim.

Mysterious Voice #1 chuckled. /**Bet you're glad to see me huh?**/ he asked as the two-tailed fox arose. /**Notice you're lying on a bed?**/

Tails looked down to see that he was lying on a very soft and fluffy bed, quite unlike the bed he slept in when Cream allowed him to stay at the bar. The quilt looked to be hand-knitted and the pillows felt like they've been stuffed with real feathers. "Yeah," he said, surprised. "I just noticed... It's the same one in Cosmo's house."

/**Yeah,**/ Mysterious Voice #1 shrugged. /**I heard you talked to Selim, guess I should tell you my name as well,**/ he quipped.** /Call me Spike,/ **he said as he struck a rather heroic pose as his image became more sharper to Tails; to the point where Tails noticed that he was wearing white gloves.

One of his hands wearing said white gloves went into the hood. Tails couldn't see face inside, so he assumed Spike was scratching his chin. Tails rose from the bed as Spike removed his gloved hand from his hood.

/**Heh, I bet you haven't slept on a bed like that for a long time... Heck I can actually say the same thing!/** Spike joked as Tails got off the bed and stood. He gave a tiny smile to the hooded figure.

"Yeah, you're right," Tails mumbled. "It HAS been a while since I slept on a comfortable bed."

Spike nodded. /**Yeah, ever since that time, huh?/** he asked.

Suddenly, beneath them, images started to appear on the floor. Tails and Spike looked on with interest as the scenery below them changed. A house interior, with dark brown floorboards and warm, comfortable colors of brown and green adorning the walls. Towards the back, a den with a small furnace and a kitchen. On the opposite end of the kitchen lay two beds, similar to the one Tails woke up in.

In the kitchen itself was a fox woman. She was Tails' height and had his fur, only darker in tone. She had only one tail, which swished as she worked in the kitchen. Laying on one of the beds, much to Tails' surprise, was a younger version of himself.

"That's... me..." he said slowly. "And the other woman there... that's Mom..."

Tails' mom turned around and faced his younger self, smiling sweetly. "My, how you've grown, Miles," she said, her blue eyes gazing at her son. "I bet the girls never leave you alone."

The younger Tails blushed slightly. "No... Not really Mom," he replied meekly.

His mother sighed. "I'm worried about you Miles," she said. "There are too many temptations in the city. I think it would be a good idea if you just settled down and started dating."

Young Tails looked to the ceiling. "I'm OK Mom," he mumbled.

His mother placed her hand on her chin in thought, then nodded to her son. "Miles, I think you should find someone older, someone who will take care of you, you know? I think that would be the perfect match for you," she exclaimed.

Young Tails shook his head. "No Mom, it's OK. I'm not really interested..." he replied.

As Young Tails spoke, the whiteness around Older Tails' started to dim... Until the Void disappeared entirely and he himself, blacked out...

End Chapter

**A/N:** Well there you have it! Chapter 13! Hope you enjoyed it! Here's the preview for the next chapter.

Chapter 14 Preview:

As requested by her mother, Tails slips out of Cosmo's house, hoping to get to Sector 7 on his own. But how in the heck did she get to the entrance of Sector 6 BEFORE him? As this goes on, Cream prepares to infiltrate and interrogate the infamous Don Corneo, ruler of the Sector 6 Wall Market, to get some answers... What will Tails' reaction be when he sees the dolled-up Cream? And will Cosmo confront Tails about her past love? Find out next time!

Ok, now for some serious talk. As you all know, this story is based on Final Fantasy VII. This means while there is going to be a lot of similarites, this is not a rewrite of the script and therefore, I can somewhat alter some of the major elements of the story. Evidence was already shown before hand, but the main point of stating this here is that soon I will be introducing a Sonic character that may, or may not fill the role of Red XIII. I'm not gonna say who it is, I'll be evil and leave that to your imagination. But I think this character will work, I'm just not sure how the character will be accepted by the general public who read my story. Feedback, critcisim, even guesses as to who the character might be are welcome, (some people already guessed right about which Sonic character will be who in the story :D ). I just really don't want to screw this up for everyone and for myself because I enjoy writing this story and I hope you're all having a blast reading it too :P

To wrap up, thanks goes to Blue Mage for another excllent review :P. Ri2, for clearing up a couple things with Nack (I should've noticed it myself, thanks dude:D) and anonymous newcomer, Sara. If you thought the first 12 chapters were boss, wait 'till you see the next bunch:D. Anyways, enjoy dudes. I'll see you next chatper!

Zonic


	14. To Sector 7 Once Again

**A/N:** Hey everybody! Zonic The Zone Cop back with another installment of Mobius VII! Sorry for the long wait... Had to deal with a lot of problems with school, friends, family and a serious case of writers block, but that's ok! School's great now! Friends are somewhat ok, Family's amazing and I officially am in a serious relationship with my girlfriend! (Finally! XD). Life can't get any more sweeter! And cuz of all that, my muse returned! So I'm sharing my happiness with you guys in the form of Chapter 14!

New things are happening here! And the only way to see it is to read it! I ain't gonna spoil things here! So whatcha waiting for! Enjoy Chapter 14!

Chapter 14: To Sector 7 Once Again

Vanilla's Haven: 5:30 am. M.S.T.

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

A hand slammed down on the snooze and a soft groan was heard from underneath the covers. Two long, brown tipped, cream-colored ears were exposed from the sheets. A svelte, slender body rose from the thin comforters as the figure ran a hand through strands of cream-colored hair.

"Ugh... 5:30 in the morning?" the figure mumbled in a sweet, soft, feminine voice. "Hmm... Time to get up and get ready for... MY mission..."

The female slowly got off the hard mattress and walked into the tiny bathroom. Turning on the light, she stared into the mirror.

What stared back was a disheveled, mopey and distraught Cream Rabbit.

Sighing, she turned the faucet of her sink and prepared for what was going to be the most... interesting of days.

In the midst of her preparation, her mind traveled back to her furry, two tailed fox-swordsman and best friend, Tails. She frowned.

"I'm sure he's fine..." she mumbled blearily. "He'll come home any minute now..."

Sighing once again, she stripped and entered the shower, thanking the Source that, despite his hatred of Mobians, Kintobor did not shut off the water for the slum.

* * *

40 minutes later, Cream, all refreshed and awakened, applied a light dusting of make-up. She wore a seductive, blue dress, which accentuated her body, flaunting it while at the same time, keeping it as modest as possible. Under the dress, she wore her normal skirt, seeing that her top would show. Putting the make up in a large purse, which held her top, her fighting gloves and her boots, she slung it over her shoulder.

"They said they would pick me up at around 8," she mumbled softly to herself. "Oh man, am I ever in a bind..."

Heavy footsteps were heard right outside her door. A soft knock was heard.

"Hey Cream, are ya decent?" A rough voice asked. It was Bark's.

"Come in," she called aloud.

Bark entered the small room, frowning. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instead. A period of silence ensued until Cream broke the silence.

"H-how do I look?" she asked timidly.

Bark sighed. "Do you want the truth?" he grumbled, then took off his cap and ran his only paw through the fur on his head. "I'm worried about you Cream, I know you're just doing this to get your mind off of Tails." He paced the room a few times until he faced her again. "What if something happens to you? I wouldn't forgive myself, nor would Biggs, Wedge or Jessie."

Cream shook her head and smiled softly. "Bark, I know what you mean," she said in a low voice. "But I HAVE to do this. We need to know how that weasel knew about TORNADO. To do that, we need to go to the source of it all."

"Sector 6, right?" Bark asked. Cream nodded.

After some time in silence, Cream spoke up. "Is Hope up?"

Bark shook his head. "It's a good thing too," he voiced out. "It wouldn't be a good thing if she saw you like that. You know how Humans are? They're impressionable at that age..." he muttered.

Cream giggled. "Then you'll be a good father and explain this stuff to her when she's older," she remarked.

Bark smiled slowly, then frowned after he looked at the clock. "It's 6:30... You SURE you want to do this?" he asked.

"I have to Bark, I have to," was her only answer.

* * *

Cosmo's House: 6:30 am. M.S.T.

Tails' eyes shot open, shining blue staring at the white ceiling of Cosmo's house. Blinking to remove the sleep, Tails rose from the bed and scratched his head.

"Mmm... Must've fallen asleep," he whispered to himself.

Standing, he crept to his sword and armor and strapped them on. Behind the bed, Tails saw a package which contained a vial of Phoenix Down and a note from Cosmo's mother saying thanks for bringing her daughter home. Tails smiled at the note, then slowly and carefully opened the door, taking caution not to make any sudden noises.

"Sector 7's just past Sector 6. I should be alright on my own," Tails whispered to himself.

Carefully, Tails tiptoed towards the steps leading downstairs. He stepped on a creaky floorboard and tensed up for several minutes, all senses alert and solely focused on the door. But nothing happened. Cosmo's door remained closed...

Quickly moving down the steps, Tails rushed through the door.

* * *

'_Heh... he thinks he can get away THAT easily? Then Tails will have another thing coming..._' Cosmo thought to herself as she heard the creaking floorboard outside her room. She only smiled, imagining the fox tensing up, possibly fearing that she would come out and scold him.

Shaking her head, she opened her window, which she stood beside and threw out a rope which was tied to her bedpost on one end and a weight on the other.

Cosmo shimmied down the rope carefully. As soon as she touched the ground, she expertly threw the weighted rope back into her window with practiced ease, then proceeded in taking a shortcut before seeing Tails bolt out her door.

'_I'll meet him at the entrance to Sector 6,_' she thought mischievously. _'He's gonna have a hard time figuring out how I got there first._' She smirked and calmly proceeded down the narrow path.

* * *

Moving quickly, Tails made his way to the dilapidated Sector 6 gate. On the way, he stopped by the pipe where the sick raccoon lived, to find that no one occupied it any more. Not even a hair was found in the small living space. Shaking his head, Tails continued on.

When he reached the gate he stopped in sheer surprise.

"Took you long enough, I was waiting here forever!" a soft, light voice filled the air as Cosmo rose from the wall she was leaning on, smirking.

"But... how... when.. what?" Tails stammered, trying to figure out what was going on. _'Why didn't I hear her? Shoot, I must've panicked... some Ex-SOLDIER I am...'_ he scolded himself.

"So," she smiled, walking slowly to Tails. "You woke up pretty early today?"

Tails sighed. "How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" he said, covering his face with his gloved paw.

Cosmo shrugged. "Does it matter?" she asked. She faced the other direction, head turning towards Tails. "So are you done? Because we have to cross the Sector 6 slums to get to Sector 7 and Vanilla's Haven. It's pretty rough there... Robians, Bandits... And I heard of mutants lurking around these parts... we have to be..."

Before she could finish, Tails tossed her an Emerald. "Here, take this," he interrupted. "It's my Ice Emerald, I have an All and Lightning Emerald on my sword, so there's no need to worry."

Catching it in surprise, Cosmo harrumphed. "Well now, it's pretty rude to interrupt a lady, Tails." she muttered. Shaking her head, she placed the Emerald in the lone slot of her rod. "OK, let's go!" she exclaimed, walking off and into the gate.

Tails shrugged and followed inside.

* * *

Broken construction material, debris and scaffolding made up the majority of the Sector 6 slum. Originally, it was once a residential district of the old city, before the plates were built. Tails and Cosmo saw first-hand what the remains of the old city looked like.

"There's a lot of construction mechs around here," Cosmo commented as she and Tails traversed the wreckage. "Wonder what they were used for?"

"Probably building, or more likely, demolition," Tails replied curtly. His sharp senses picked up skittering.

'_It's different than before..._' Tails observed, stopping and listening. '_It doesn't sound mechanical, it sounds more organic, more alive..._'

Suddenly, Tails' head started to throb with pain. He brought his hands up to his head to massage the pain away. In his mind he heard a faded voice, speaking.

'_These monsters, mutants... they are neither Mobian nor Human... Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these things really are,_' a cold, sharp voice resonated in Tails' head. Before he could figure out who said those words, Cosmo let out a yelp.

Four spider-like creatures emerged out of the rubble. They had long, funnel shaped bodies, with several rows of sharp teeth covering the mouth. The tail ended in a thick leathery whip-like appendage and they had two sets of sharp, spiny legs. They snarled and hissed as they surrounded Tails and Cosmo.

Suddenly, they rushed towards them, sickening hisses and wails emitting from their grotesque bodies. Cosmo's eyes widened.

Tails was in action immediately. Pulling out his sword, he sliced through two of them and defended against the others. "Cosmo! Get back, I'll take care of this!" he hollered.

Suddenly, he saw white flashes and heard a voice in his head... a familiar voice...

_'TAILS! RUN!'_

Momentarily defenseless, the monsters closed in and attacked Tails, striking him heavily on his shoulder. Tails grimaced as he was pulled back into reality, blood spurting from his shoulder as he cut another creature in two.

Cosmo watched as Tails froze, then was attacked. '_What just happened there?_' she mused to herself. Focusing back to the present, she saw that Tails was in rough shape. '_Combining that shoulder wound with the shrapnel I removed from his tails... he must be in serious pain..._' Shaking her head at that thought, she pulled out her rod, extended it and placed a hand on the Ice Emerald...

"I gotta help him out..." she whispered to herself as she began concentrating.

Her eyes went milky white, as she twirled the rod once, drawing up a large amount of energy from the Emerald. She then let go of the rod, leaving it to hover horizontally in mid-air in front of her. Bringing her hands above her, Cosmo concentrated heavily on the two targets, the blue energy in her hands reaching its peak level. She swung her arms in front of her, as if throwing a ball and called, "ICE!" ending with her palms facing the monsters.

Tails watched in frustration as the last monster inched closer and closer._ 'With my shoulder like this, all I can manage are one-handed _swings,' he calculated._ 'I'll have to wait till it gets closer to attack, but if I'm not careful with my calculation...' _

Suddenly it pounced upon him before he could figure out what to do. Before it could even reach him, a powerful blast of Ice magic hit it head on! The body started to freeze rapidly, until it couldn't move at all, standing within range of the Buster Sword. Utilizing this advantage, Tails swung his sword mightily with one hand, effectively shattering the tainted creature.

Heaving slightly, Tails placed the Buster Sword on his back once more, and dug around in his bag for Potions, downing two of them. He walked up to Cosmo, pressing a hand into his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"Was that you just now?" he asked inquisitively.

Cosmo nodded. "What? You thought I was just a helpless girl holding a stick huh?" she joked. "Didn't I tell you I know how to use Emeralds?"

"Yeah," Tails replied. "I just didn't know you can use them so well? You must be naturally gifted."

"Heheh... Yeah..." Cosmo said uncertainty. Shaking her head, she walked ahead of Tails. "Come on, this way."

* * *

A few moments later, Tails and Cosmo emerged in front of the Sector 7 Slum bay doors. In front of it was a small playground; an old swing set, a sandbox and an old slide, dirtied and abandoned for what seemed like years. Cosmo's eyes lit up upon entering the area. She stopped and faced Tails.

"Well, here we are, the entrance to Sector 7," she announced, smiling.

Tails' hardened look eased slightly. "Thanks," he said, smirking slightly. "I guess this is where we part ways. Are you sure you're gonna be OK going back home by yourself?"

Placing her pale hand upon her forehead, she heaved a long, mocking sigh. "Oh dear, whatever will I do?!" she proclaimed in an over-dramatic manner. She stayed in place, hand on forehead until she couldn't take anymore and burst out laughing. Tails chuckled a little bit with her.

"I bet that's what you want me to say, huh?" Cosmo said coyly.

Tails smirked again and shook his head. "Heh, and what if I said I'd take you to Sector 7? Cream might wanna know who it was who saved my life?" he answered back in the same tone. Instantly his eyes widened slightly. '_The hell was that about?!_' he thought.

Cosmo's heart started to flutter a bit. '_More and more, I see my ex-boyfriend in him... At least he gives me an excuse to talk to Cream about what's going on..._' she ruminated. Clearing her throat slightly, she tilted her head questionably. "Take me to Sector 7?" she replied. "Maybe... but wouldn't I be in the way?"

Tails rose an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, clueless.

Cosmo inwardly rolled her eyes. '_Well, he's as dense as wood..._' she thought, amused at the kitsune's behavior. "Nothing Tails," she giggled. Placing her hands behind her back, she swayed slightly. "Can we take a little break first?" she asked.

Tails blinked a few times, then nodded.

Cosmo grinned and ran up towards the animal shaped slide, her white dress flowing around her as she dashed to the structure. She stopped in front of it, panting slightly.

"I can't believe its still here... I thought the bandits or those monsters would've destroyed it by now..." she whispered to herself, then proceeded to climb on top of the slide and sat down on top of it. "Hey Tails!" she waved to him, "Over here!"

Smirking in amusement, Tails walked up to the slide. He unsheathed his sword and stuck it into the hard ground nearby, then climbed up the slide and sat next to Cosmo.

They entered comfortable silence, when Cosmo broke it.

"Tails?" she asked, tentatively. "What... Rank were you?"

Tails looked at her, perplexed. "Rank?" he questioned.

"You know, in SOLDIER?" she pressed on.

Tails looked up to the Sector 6 Plate above them. "Oh, I was..." but before he could finish, his vision was obscured by a bright white flash, followed by short images... fire, the cold, green eyes, glowing silver spines... and all of a sudden it stopped. "First Class," Tails finished as his vision returned to normal.

"Just like him..." Cosmo whispered.

Tails' enhanced hearing heard her. "Like who?" he questioned.

Cosmo looked at him, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "My first boyfriend," she answered calmly.

Tails looked at her with mild surprise. "You were... serious?" he asked, trying to signal her on the meaning of 'serious.'

Cosmo laughed at Tails' antics. "No," she said mirthfully. "But I liked him for a while."

Her thoughts said otherwise. '_Liar, you WERE serious, and you WERE going to go to the next level of the relationship... and you didn't like him, you LOVED him...'_ she sighed.

Tails didn't notice her sudden drop in her mood. "I probably knew him," he said, shrugging. "What was his name?"

Cosmo looked away. "It doesn't really matter," she said softly.

Tails sighed. "Alright I won't push it..." he said.

Just then, the Sector 7 bay doors opened up. Tails and Cosmo looked behind them. A cart, pulled by a large, yellow bird, a Chocobo, emerged from the Sector. The bay doors closed as the Chocobo turned towards the Wall Market.

Standing outside, at the back of the cart, was Cream, looking straight at Tails and Cosmo. Her eyes widened and her mind raced. '_Tails!? Your alive!! But... who's that girl he's with?' _she thought. She was speechless as she saw her childhood friend again while being pulled towards Sector 6.

Tails gasped. "Hey back there! Cream?!" he exclaimed, standing up on the slide. '_What the hell's she doing here and why is she dressed like that?!'_ he wondered.

Cosmo looked puzzled. "That's Cream? She's dressed pretty... odd," she said hesitantly. '_I didn't want to say that she dresses like a slut... Tails wouldn't be friends with someone like that... so she must be a good person,_' she reasoned with herself. She stood up. _'Regardless, now's my chance to get some answers!_' she thought. Without putting much thought into her actions, Cosmo jumped off the slide and ran in the direction the cart was going in.

Tails looked on in surprise. "Cosmo! Wait!" he shouted at her distant figure. "You go home! I'll go... alone..." but before he could finish, Cosmo was gone. "Damnit, she's an Interbred... she's could get herself killed if she's not careful!" he whispered to himself. "Better go after her..."

Hopping off the slide and grabbing his sword, Tails rushed off toward the Wall Market.

End Chapter

**A/N:** So there's Chapter 14... EVERYBODY who's a Final Fantasy VII fan KNOWS what I'm getting into now... XD! And just for you, a Preview!

Chapter 15 Preview:

Our serious, two-tailed Ex-SOLDIER has a serious dillema to deal with. To enter Don Cajote's manor and save Cream... He must do one of the most unspeakable things known to Human and Mobian kind... And how is Cosmo involved? More importantly, how can Cosmo hide the fact that she's an Interbred from a slum that truly hates them? Find out this and more, in the Next Chapter of Mobius VII!

First up, sorry, Sorry, SORRY for the late update... as explained above, a lot of crap happened... but it's all good now! :D. Second of all, in the last chapter, I JUST now realized for the preview of THIS chapter (Chapter 14), I used 'Don Corneo' instead of 'Don Cajote.' Totally MY BAD on my part... dunno WHAT the hell I was doing at that time... Regardless, the name of the Wall Market boss is 'Don Cajote.' Just wanted to clear that up with everyone! Thirdly, I'm going to list the ages of the characters on my profile, so you'll have a better sense of how old everyone is. (Just to tell you now, not everyone in the story is the same age as those in the game!)

Thanks again to Ri2 for the review! To answer your question (finally lol): No, Knux is not Spike and No, Omega's not Cait Sith. You'll have to guess again! Sorry about that... :D Also, gotta thank my bro for helping me edit this chapter! Please review! Try at least! I really want to know if everyone likes this story or not! So c'mon people! REVIEW! LOL! Anyways, take care, dunno when the next update's gonna come out, cuz I really wanna go all out for the next few chapters, since they're some of the best moments in FFVII history! :D Later!

Zonic.


	15. Wall Market Blues

**A/N:** Hey! Zonic back with a new chapter. First of all... I have to apologize, because last chapter, I did something really stupid lol. Without looking back to my other chapters, I mistakenly told you all that Don Corneo in my story would be called Don Cajote, but upon further investigation, it really WAS Don Corneo! :O. Currently, I'm beating myself with a large stick and contemplating hara-kiri, but if I did that, what would happen to the story? :D. OK, joking aside, the names REALLY Don Corneo. So sorry for the total confusion... :(.

Anyways! Time for the next chapter. I know everyone's been looking forward to this one for AGES! Well people, your patience is rewarded! Enjoy Chapter 15!

**Disclaimer: _I Do Not Own_ the Playboy Logo, nor anything else in this story.**

Chapter 15: Wall Market Blues

:Tails' P.O.V.:

For the first time in my life, I feel threatened.

I face possibly the most difficult challenge I've ever faced in my lifetime. This... thing, in front of me... It has no weaknesses...

It's stronger than any opponent I've ever fought... Urg!

...

It's gone... They come and go as they please, these headaches... but enough on that.

Why am I here? Stuck in a small space, fighting this thing, alone? It's like it wants me to submit to it...

If I kill it, Cosmo'll kill me, not to mention the whole 'Save Cream' mission will be a hell lot more difficult...

If I don't kill it, I suffer the greatest blow to my pride, not to mention... Ugh, forget it, I don't even WANT to mention it...

It was there I came to a realization. My pride is not at stake, Cream's life is.

I also realized another thing.

I blame Cosmo for this...

...But if its to save Cream...

Then I guess I'll surrender to it...

And to think, a few hours ago, we could've avoided this whole situation if I didn't have to be so damn careful...

:End P.O.V.:

_Flashback to several hours ago..._

The Sector 6 Slum, more commonly known as the Wall Market, was a bustling place of low-end commerce and sleaze. Mobians of all walks of life perforated the streets, some pure, others crossbreeds. No Humans or Interbreds were seen. It was a purely Mobian slum.

Tails ran in, his Mako eyes adjusting to the bright neon lights covering the majority of the billboards and shop windows, advertising goods and services. Searching quickly, he spotted Cosmo talking to an old female alligator.

"Holy shit Cosmo," Tails exclaimed, walking up to Cosmo. "You must be nuts to-"

Cosmo placed a finger on Tails' lips, silencing him. "Quiet," she hissed in a low whisper. "You wanna get me killed?"

Tails shook his head. '_I'm right, she IS nuts..._' he thought to himself.

Cosmo removed her finger from Tails' lips and turned back to the old Mobian. "Sorry about my friend, he excites easily," she said casually. "Now, Auntie Viv, have you seen a very pretty bunny girl wearing a blue dress come past here?" she asked the old alligator kindly.

The elder smiled as much as an alligator could smile. "Well, dear me Cosmo, never knew you were interested in women," she said in a reedy voice, grinning at the sight of Cosmo's horribly blushing face. "I'm slightly disappointed in you, what happened to your boyfriend? Not satisfying you enough?"

"Auntie Viv!" Cosmo yelled, covering her face in embarrassment. "It's not for me, my friend here, Tails, is looking for her, have you seen her?" she said, meekly. '_Oh Source..._' Cosmo inwardly sighed. '_Auntie Viv will be Auntie Viv... I just hope she doesn't scare Tails..._'

Tails watched the entire scene with widened eyes and raised eyebrows.

The old female then turned to Tails, sizing him up. "Hmph, you're a strong one, aren't you? That bunny girl must be lucky to be chased by a hunk like you," she said to the two-tailed fox.

Tails inwardly smiled. _'That's a weird thing to hear from an old lady... even though she's probably crazy,_' he thought.

Until she continued talking. "Then again with a face, body and chest like HER'S, what guy wouldn't?" She said, grinning once again as Tails fought to keep a straight face, failing miserably.

Tails' face was a mixture of shock, horror and embarrassment. '_Yep, definitely crazy_,' he confirmed. He looked at Cosmo and shot her the fiercest glare he could possibly give her.

Cosmo getting the message quick, faced Auntie Viv. "AUNTIE VIV!" She shouted. "Please, we really need your help, stop goofing off!" The wizened alligator shook her head.

"Oh alright, fine. It was fun teasing you young folk, but it seems you're in a hurry." she said, smirking. Her face turned deathly serious in an instant. "Yes, I've seen her, she headed down to the Playboy Inn, at the east side of town, just a little while ago."

Cosmo sighed in relief. "Thanks Auntie Viv, I'll see you later on, OK?" she replied, waving good-bye to the elder. She then walked into town, urging Tails to follow.

As soon as they got out of range, Cosmo started to laugh uncontrollably. Tails glared at her again.

"What the hell's that all about? And why aren't- mmfp!" Cosmo slapped his mouth shut and shushed him.

"Quiet Tails! I think you really are trying to get me killed!" she exclaimed, then dropped her voice to barely a whisper. Only Tails' super-normal hearing could pick up what she said next.

"Just because I said that Sector 6 is a different story for Interbreds doesn't mean that it's impossible for Interbreds to walk into the slum," she explained. "If you're cover story and looks are good enough, one can pass as a crossbreed easily. I've been here countless times before Tails, seeing that this place has the most Mobian-friendly pharmacy in Megapolis." she looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching them carefully, then continued explaining. "Auntie Viv also knows I'm an Interbred. She used to visit my house and deliver groceries for my mother before the path between Sectors 5 and 6 became too dangerous for the elderly to cross. She may be crude, but that's because she's been her a long time. Everyone's like that here." She rose her voice to its normal level as she spoke. "This place is scary in a lot of ways, especially for a girl."

She then gave him a look that said '_It's even scarier for Interbreds, so don't say anything about it,_' then continued. "So let's find Cream fast," she finished, smiling.

* * *

They headed towards the Playboy Inn. The logo was a simple, white rabbit's head, with one ear pointed straight up, while the other was bent slightly. Tails rose an eyebrow skeptically at the sight of the logo.

'_Cream'll DEFINETLY fit in here..._' he thought, smirking to himself.

Tails approached a stout-looking badger and a slinky newt in a business suit standing at the entrance to the Inn. They turned to face him.

"By any chance, do you know a girl named Cream?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, I know her, she's just finished her interview and she's at the Don's place right now, why do you ask?" the newt in the suit questioned.

Tails took a step forward, arm going for his sword, about to threaten him as to why Cream's here, when a gentle hand stopped him. Cosmo placed her hand on Tails' shoulder and shook her head.

Tails looked back to Cosmo and nodded, lowering his arm. '_It wouldn't be a good idea to start a ruckus here... Who knows how much power this 'Don' character has,_' he reasoned. He went back to the newt and answered. "No reason, she's a friend of mine. Any chance of telling me where the Don is and what he does?" he asked.

The badger answered for the newt. "The Don's a powerful man here in Sector 6, keeps our businesses and our jobs running. Only thing is that he desperately wants to get hitched with a beautiful bride. He picks three girls and chooses one of them to be his bride. That's all I know... Hey son, you lookin' alright?" he asked a blanched Tails.

'_What the Source has Cream gotten herself into?!_' Tails asked himself. "I'm fine," he answered curtly. "Where's the Don's place?"

"Up at the far side of town, near the Central Plate Wall," the newt said. Tails nodded and turned to Cosmo.

"C'mon Cosmo, let's go see this Don," he said.

* * *

Passing by a restaurant, an item store, a pharmacy, a clothes store, a gym, a large karaoke bar and finally, an arms store, Tails and Cosmo reached the Don's manor. A large merchants tent was placed in front, filled with many vendors, all empty for the day. The very back of the tent was the actual entrance to the manor. A large stone door with intricate carvings and a lone guard standing in front came into their view.

"Tails," Cosmo said before reaching the guard. "I just want to say that I'm sorry for running off so suddenly, I just want to help you out, you know?" Her mind spoke differently. '_That's total BS, you're here because you want to ask Cream questions about Tails because he's like HIM,_' her sub-conscious said to her.

"Huh? Oh don't worry about it, let's help Cream out," he replied. '_Though, it would be easier if I could do this on my own,_' he thought. '_Can't be helped though._'

They approached the guard, a lizard-like Mobian. He rose his hand to stop the two and spoke. "This is Don Corneo's Mansion. He's a big shot here in the Wall Market." Taking a look at Tails, he furrowed his brows. "Look the Don's not interested in men, so get the hell out of here," he exclaimed, moving forward, until Cosmo came into his view.

His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "HOLY CRAP!" he exclaimed, staring at Cosmo. "Wow! You are a definite babe! Why are you with this douche?" he asked. "You should definitely see the Don, he could help you out with a movie career or something!" he grinned at her.

Inwardly gagging, Cosmo smiled sweetly at the lizard. "Ohhh, I'm so glad you think so," she said, adopting an bubbly personality. "Can you give us a minute, please? I need to talk to my friend here first."

She pulled Tails away from the hearing range of the lizard and faced him. "OK, this looks like the place, I'll go in and take a look around. When I see Cream, I'll tell her about you," she said. She started walking back to the entrance, when she was stopped by Tails.

"No way! I'm not letting you do this," he said vehemently, grabbing her arm.

Cosmo turned around and walked back. "Why not?" she asked.

Tails' eyes shifted slightly. "Y-you DO know... what kinda... place this IS, don't you?" he muttered.

Cosmo giggled. '_Overprotective much?_' she thought. "Well then, what should we do?" she asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Wanna come with me?" she asked, turning away suddenly as a thought entered her mind.

Tails didn't notice, he was too deep into thought. "Well, being a guy, that would be kinda hard. I can't bust in there because it'll cause too much commotion..." he voiced out loud to her, but Cosmo wasn't listening, his voice fading out in her ears.

A grand, insane plan was growing in her mind. Only two things registered in it now. Getting Tails inside the mansion and Revenge.

'_I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!_' she ruminated gleefully. '_This way, Tails can get in undetected and meet Cream and I can get my revenge from when Tails and I met again in the church! He'll know the meaning of 'Payback is a Bitch',_' she thought, smiling. Suddenly she couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing.

"First, we need to find out if Cream's alright..." Tails continued as he thought Cosmo was listening, until he heard her laugh. "Huh? What's so funny Cosmo?" he asked.

Cosmo looked at him, mirth in her eyes. "Tails, why don't you just dress like a girl, it's the only way!" she exclaimed to him.

Tails' heart stopped, his jaw dropped, his eyes widened and all logical thought went out the window. The only thought processing was the very word he said out loud. "WHAT!?" he exclaimed loudly as Cosmo ran back to the lizard guard.

"Just wait buddy, I got another cutie coming with me. Can you try to delay just until tonight, so we can prepare? We wanna look good for you guys, you know?" she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

The lizard looked like he could die and go to heaven. "Gimme a minute," he said, and rushed inside. Soon enough, the lizard reemerged. "The Don's OK with it. I suggest you start getting ready now. Don't wait till last minute," he said.

Cosmo nodded, while Tails gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Alright then, I'll be back with my friend later tonight!" Cosmo said as she and Tails walked away from the guard.

When they reached the entrance, Tails spun around, facing Cosmo. "COSMO ARE YOU CRAZY!" Tails yelled "I can't do this!"

Cosmo put on a serious, concerned face. "But you ARE worried about Cream aren't you? This is the only way to get in," she reasoned.

Tails reluctantly nodded. '_Of course I'm worried... but no WAY I can do this... Maybe it's not too late to go bust in there myself..._' he thought miserably.

"Are you done with your griping?" Cosmo asked, as she moved forward. "Because we got a lot to do to girl you up Tails. Let's head to that clothes store first..." she trailed on as Tails stood there, ears flat on his head, tails on the ground.

'_I am not going to enjoy this..._' he remarked, sadly.

* * *

"It's gonna take some time to get one... Dad's been in a slump lately, he makes the dresses," the store-owner said to Cosmo. Tails stood by near the counter with a frown on his face.

After constant pleading to try to break into the mansion where Cream was staying and Cosmo reasoning that Cream wouldn't be there for no reason, not to mention that it would place all three of them in danger, Tails hesitantly agreed to sneak himself into the mansion under the guise as a girl.

'_Cream better have a hell of a good explanation on why she's there,_' Tails thought as he watched Cosmo and the squirrel converse about clothes. Finally, Cosmo walked up to Tails with an annoyed expression on her face.

"The girl's father's at the bar at the north side of the town, near that arms shop, probably getting smashed," Cosmo said, sighing. "We can't get the dress until we talk to him about it, so let's head there, OK?"

Leaving, they headed up town to the karaoke bar. Tails realized that he was hungry and made a mental note to eat later at the restaurant they passed earlier. When they reached the bar, sounds of off-key singing was heard. Cosmo walked up to an older, graying squirrel sitting on a stool with a shot glass in his hand and tapped him on his shoulder.

"Whaddya want?" the squirrel slurred, keeping his attention to his drink.

"Excuse me," Cosmo started, politely. "Are you the father of the girl at the clothes store?"

"Yeah, I own the clothes store down the street, but I ain't your father," he said drunkenly. Cosmo sighed.

Tails approached him, giving him a level stare. "Make me some clothes," he demanded.

The owner turned around on his stool. "I don't make men's clothes and I don't feel like making anything anyways," he muttered gruffly, turning around.

Cosmo turned to Tails and flashed him a smile. "Better let me handle this," she said, winking. "Go, uh... sing a song or something!"

Tails rolled his eyes and walked away from her and the dressmaker and looked around. His sharp hearing picked up moans of pain coming from the restroom. He decided to investigate.

"Oh man!" a tiger, doing the potty dance, moaned as he was waiting in front of the only bathroom of the joint. "Somebody get that chick out of there! She's been throwing up way too long! I can't hold it anymore!"

Tails looked back to where Cosmo and the dressmaker were sitting. Seeing as they were still talking, he walked up to the restroom door and knocked.

"Digestive... need... Digestive..." a voice inside muttered as Tails heard the sounds of retching continue. He walked back to Cosmo, seeing as she finished her conversation.

"Hee hee, Told you I could handle it," Cosmo said, smirking. "The guy told me for you to come later tonight, that's when he'll finish the dress. Also, he said that there are other Mobians here who have stuff that can help make you a more convincing girl, let's go talk to them."

"Sure, but let's grab something to eat first, there's a restaurant near the clothes store we can go to," Tails said, remembering a man in front of the restaurant mentioning free coupons for meals.

* * *

An hour later, after obtaining some 'Voluptuous Secrets' perfume from the sparrow girl in the restroom, Tails and Cosmo made their way to a Emerald dealer.

"Aww," Cosmo cooed. "That was a nice thing for you to do Tails."

"Sure, whatever," Tails replied. "I just don't like to see others suffer sometimes."

Cosmo giggled sweetly. "Aw, you're just a big softie inside that tough exterior," she said. "Oh! I still have to go out with you, you know?"

Tails smirked. "Yeah I remember, but later on," he mentioned, stopping in front of the dealer's door. "In the meantime, let's go in," he said, opening the door.

An ostrich smoking from a hookah pipe and sitting on a pillow awaited them. He grinned. "Welcome to my shop dudes," he said casually.

"Hi," Cosmo replied. "We heard you have a tiara, can you lend it to us?"

The ostrich's eyes widened. "Ohhhhh, so word on the street was correct, huh?" he questioned, looking at Tails. "You're the dude who wants to look like a dudette, eh? No problems there, I guess..." he trailed off.

"Look buddy," Tails said, embarrassed. "I need to know if you can help, otherwise, I'm gone."

"Woah, woah dude, chill out, I'll help out. But..." he trailed off again, looking towards Cosmo out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll need your help first. And this is kinda like a guy-to-guy thing, so dudette?" he asked Cosmo, "Can you, like, turn around for a second?"

Cosmo harrumphed. "Sheesh, men," she muttered. "Fine, I won't interrupt," she said, shooting Tails a 'you-owe-me-for-this' glare and turned around.

"Thanks dudette," the ostrich said, taking a puff out of his pipe and blowing smoke from his nostrils. "Ahh, good stuff, wanna try?" he asked Tails.

"Pass, now tell me what I need to do," Tails ordered.

The dealer shrugged. "Alright, cool," he mumbled and motioned towards Tails. "OK, you know the inn near the entrance of town? See, they got this vending machine there and I wanted to know what the hell they're selling in that thing. The problem is, I got into a fight with the owner and I'm now banned there for life. So, all you gotta do is go in, get whatever is in the vending machine and bring it here," he explained. "Oh and you can only use the machines if your staying there, so yeah."

Tails nodded. "Alright pal, I'll... I'll do it for ya," he said hesitantly.

The Emerald dealer broke into a smile. "Thanks bro!" he exclaimed to Tails. Turning to Cosmo, who had her ears plugged the whole time he said thanks to her too. Cosmo shrugged.

As they left, Cosmo went up to Tails' ear. "I heard the entire thing," she whispered, grinning.

Tails face-palmed as they walked through town.

* * *

Along the way, an indecisive hippo gave Tails a membership club card to the Playboy Inn and ran off. Raising an eyebrow, Tails took it.

"Hey, I bet those girls at the Inn can give you some sexy underwear?" Cosmo joked.

Tails shook his head. "Whatever," he replied. '_We could probably go and get some more information about the Don,_' he thought to himself.

They made their way to the Inn. Tails walked up to the newt in a suit.

"Ahh, we've heard of you," the newt said, looking behind him and seeing Cosmo. "At least, we've heard of your friend behind you. Shame to say that you can't see the Don yourself. Heck, we don't really get to see him either, only his two higher-ups are allowed to see him, but what can you do?" he asked, then grinned, seeing the membership card in his hand. "Hey, since you got one of those, why not go in for a sec? Have some fun?" he asked, then looked at Cosmo again. "Unless your girlfriend won't allow you to?"

Tails gave it a thought as his head started to hurt once more. _'Wait, __why the hell am I here in the first place? There's no way I'm going in there just to get some underwear... and this guy doesn't look like he knows anything else about the Don either. Cream's life's at stake anyway, I don't have time to waste,_' he reasoned. "Sorry, I'll pass," he said to the newt, then turned to Cosmo. "Come on Cosmo, let's go, we're wasting our time here."

After leaving, Cosmo started to laugh again. Tails rose an eyebrow. "What so funny this time," he asked.

"Hey, those guys look like they had a lot of money, I could've made some business selling some of my flowers," she answered, pulling out flowers from a pocket on the inside of her small, green jacket. "Hey, a girl's gotta do something to earn some money and flowers are really rare around these parts," she grinned and walked forwards.

'_Man, that girl gets stranger every moment I'm with her,_' Tails remarked as he walked up with her, discarding the membership card.

Cosmo, however, had different thoughts. '_Well here's something interesting,_' she ruminated, walking ahead of Tails. '_Once again, Tails surprises me, just like he used to do all the time,_' she sighed, looking towards the sky, covered up thanks to the giant piece of Megapolis' upper plate.

'_I'm still waiting for you,_' she thought, hoping her prayer would reach him. '_Where are you?_'

* * *

"Hmm, something's missing here," Cosmo said, observing Tails carefully as they walked down the streets.

"W-what? What are you looking at?" Tails asked, stumbling on his words.

Cosmo looked for a while longer, then gasped. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed. "You're missing a wig!"

"Why do I need a wig for?" Tails asked, sullenly.

"Well, I mean, honestly Tails, you don't really have girly hair," Cosmo replied, grinning. "The clothes store owner said so too, so he told me where to go to get one."

Tails stared at her. "And... what else did he say?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cosmo shrugged and smiled at Tails. "Hey does it really matter? We ARE getting a pretty dress after all!" she exclaimed. In her head, she was laughing evilly. Composing herself, she walked up the path where the gym was located. "Alright, let's go to the gym, the owner of the clothes shop said you can get a wig there," Cosmo said.

Tails sighed. "Alright, let's get it over with," he said reluctantly.

Walking inside the gym, the sight of overly muscular Mobians working out beheld itself to Tails and Cosmo. Equipment ranging from punching bags to a boxing ring in the corner were also present, as were customary in a normal gym. In the center, was a fit, female gorilla, ordering the others around. The two walked up to the gorilla and Cosmo tapped her on the shoulder.

When she turned around, Tails mentally gagged and Cosmo's eyes went wide. The 'she' was, rather, a 'he'.

Cosmo cleared her throat, feeling slightly awkward about the situation. "Are you, by any chance, THE Beautiful Bro?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said in a deep voice. Looking to Tails, he rose an eyebrow. "Are you the one who wants to be cute?" he questioned Tails.

Tails rose an eyebrow of his own. "Cute?" he responded.

Cosmo interrupted. "Yeah, cute. But you have the wig?"

"Yeah," The Beautiful Bro replied, placing his hands on his hips. "But it'll cost you."

Suddenly the others in the gym formed around Cosmo and Tails, circling them. Tails reached out for his sword, when The Beautiful Bro rose his hands.

"Woah, wait!" he called. "By 'cost' I mean 'competition,' heheh..." he said awkwardly.

Tails eased off and lowered his arm. A large panther walked up beside The Beautiful Bro. He glared menacingly at Tails.

"Urggghh!" he roared, trying to intimidate the swordsman. "The only way you're getting cuter is by beating me at squats!"

Tails suddenly smirked, unfazed by the panther's taunts. "Squats, eh?" he asked, confidently. "Fine."

"OKAY!" The Beautiful Bro called out. "Rules are simple, whoever does the most squats after thirty seconds, wins the wig!"

"Urgggh!" the panther roared again. "Big Bro's wig is mine!"

"Come on Tails!" Cosmo cheered. "Don't lose! You need that wig to complete the look!"

At that instant, Tails blanched. '_Source, I almost forgot were doing this to make myself look like a girl... I feel like I'm slowly losing my dignity as every second passes,_' he thought as he stood in the middle of the circle.

The Beautiful Bro faced Tails. "Need some practice first?" he asked. Tails shook his head.

"I'm ready," he said confidently. Or as confidently as one could be, considering he's competing for a wig that will make him more girly...

"OK, GO!"

* * *

_Thirty Seconds Later..._

The entire gym was silent. The muscled Mobians in the circle were staring in awe at what they saw.

"I don't frickin' believe it," The Beautiful Bro whispered in awe. Clearing his throat he announced the winner. "With a total of 42 squats against 30, the fox-boy with the huge sword is the winner!"

The place erupted in cheer. The panther kicked the ground as The Beautiful Bro walked up to Tails. "Heh, You're really something kid," he said, patting him on the shoulder. Tails mentally noted to wash said shoulder later on. "I'm a man of my word," he continued, pulling the wig out from underneath the boxing ring in the corner. "Here it is."

Cosmo cheered the loudest. "Alright! Way to go Tails!" she exclaimed happily.

"Urghh!" The panther yelled, stomping his foot on the mat like a toddler with a tantrum. "Big Bro! I'm so-- mad!" he yelled.

The Beautiful Bro rushed up and cuffed him straight in the jaw, sending him flying to the other end of the gym in a crumpled mess amongst the barbels. "Don't cry because you lost!" he shouted at him, dusting himself off. "Wimp."

From the other end of the room, the panther moaned. "Ugh... Bro's fists of steel cut to the bone."

Tails looked at Cosmo. Cosmo looked at Tails. They blinked at each other.

"Wanna boogey?" Cosmo asked quickly.

"Let's," Tails replied.

They bolted from the odd scene they were involved with moments later, leaving no trace.

* * *

After they reached the inn safely, Cosmo burst into laughter, while Tails smiled.

"That was hilarious!" Cosmo said, tears coming out of her eyes.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny, except I'll be scarred for the rest of my life because of this," Tails responded, smiling slightly with the wig in his hand. "Anyways, we should take a break. There's that thing in the vending machine we should get, plus... the dress itself," Tails muttered, smile falling.

"Oh come on," Cosmo sighed. "Don't worry, think of it as a heroic, cross-dressing moment for Cream," she said smiling. "I'll bet you she'll appreciate this when it's all over."

"Oh Source, I just hope this goes smoothly and doesn't bite us on our asses," Tails replied as they entered the inn for some well deserved rest.

* * *

A couple hours later, with a Power Plus Protein Drink in hand, Cosmo and Tails returned to the Emerald dealer's house. After watching him talk about how crappy the drink was, he handed them a Diamond Tiara. Taking the Blonde Wig, the Tiara and the perfume, they returned to the clothing store.

"Ah, you're back," the squirrel girl said when Tails and Cosmo entered the store. "Dress is ready, it's in the change room," she mentioned, pointing to the change rooms in the back. She then looked at Tails. "Uh... hope it's to your specifications," she said, holding back her laughter.

Tails furrowed his brows as he approached the change room. Cosmo handed him the items. "You gonna change?" she asked.

Tails nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready," he replied, even though he was extremely uncomfortable at the moment.

Opening the door, he saw the object of his hatred; a purple-ish blue, silk dress. He closed the door and stared at the dress for a long time, willing it to burst into flames. Sadly, it failed.

Moments passed, with Tails staring at the dress, until his head seared with pain. Fortunately, the pain passed quickly. "Look's like I have no choice... farewell, Dignity," Tails mumbled to himself after shaking himself off and he started to put on the dress.

"How do you put this thing on?" he muttered to himself, grunting and jumping around, fitting in the clothing. After a few minutes, the dress and wig were on and he knocked on the door. Cosmo entered.

"Alright, now to beautify you up girlie!" she said, grinning evilly. Tails' eyes widened as she attacked with mascara, eye liner, shadow and lipstick.

A few moments of yelling, cursing and threats of death from Cosmo, she emerged, quickly running to the counter and grabbing a digital camera she purchased in secret the night before. Running to the back, she grinned at the dressmaker and the squirrel girl, aiming the camera at the door. "Lady and Gentleman," she announced, proudly. "I give you... Talia!"

The door opened and a flash went off as Tails, or Talia, walked forward slowly, as the dress prevented him from moving in strides. The dress was form-fitting and tight, making it hard for him to breathe. On his head were the wig and the tiara, shining brightly in the dim lighting. Protruding from his back was only one tail, unbandaged; the second was wrapped around his chest to make it look like he had breasts. Thoroughly nervous and embarrassed beyond all belief, Tails faced Cosmo, who was taking this all into memory as the funniest thing that has happened to her in her 22 years of life.

'_And, I have it all on camera,_' she smiled inwardly as she held the camera behind her back.

The dressmaker observed Tails. "Hmm, this could be a new business for me," he said thoughtfully as he admired his work. "It's a perfect fit, good job boy! You've renewed my vigor!" he exclaimed, smiling at Tails.

"You're right Dad! We definitely should try it!" the squirrel girl said to her father. Turning to Cosmo, she bowed. "Thanks for showing us something new, Dad's got his mojo back and business looks sweeter than ever, so this and your dress are on the house," she said.

"Really? Awesome!" Cosmo exclaimed, turning back to Tails. "You have to walk and talk like a girl too Talia!" she called to him.

Tails sighed. "Fine," he mumbled, embarrassed out of his mind, as he practiced walking and talking like a girl. Cosmo gave him a great big smile.

"Ohh," she cooed, eyes sparkling. "You are SOOO cute, Talia!" she squealed. Looking to the shelves and clothing racks she sighed happily. "Now I have to get one too, but which one to get?" she questioned. She walked up and started searching the racks.

The dressmaker pointed out one dress on the side. "Might I recommend this one?" he asked her. Cosmo ignored him as she searched carefully. A hint of red caught her eye. She dove in to find it.

The squirrel girl pointed to one on another rack. "What'cha talking about Dad, this one's much better!" Cosmo ignored her too as she nearly found the dress. She dug deeper...

"No, THIS one's better," the dressmaker said, fully convinced that this would be the perfect dress.

Cosmo, however contradicted both, finally finding her dress and showing it to both. "Found it! I want this one!" she exclaimed, much to the confusion of all present in the building. She then walked to the change room. "I'm gonna change, Don't any of you peek!" she giggled as the door closed.

15 minutes later, Cosmo walked out in a stunning red dress and heels, fully accentuating her curves and skin colour and matching the roses on her head. Her hair was loose and wavy; she opted not to put it in a braid. She wore little make up, save the cherry lip gloss and the black eye liner. She twirled around once, stopping in front of Tails as she posed.

"How do I look?" she asked, coyly.

"..." Tails didn't have an answer, he shrugged and rolled his eyes. His mind said differently. '_Wow, she's beautiful!_' he thought to himself. '_Her old boyfriend must've been a lucky guy._'

Cosmo didn't take that reaction well. She stomped the ground and pouted. "Oh, you're no fun!" she whined. '_But I can see what he means, Cream's a little more important than little old me at the moment,_' she remembered. '_She must be there by now, hopefully nothing's happened to her yet. At least I had my fun,_' she thought deviously.

"Alright, Talia," Cosmo said, smirking at the mention of his new name. "Let's go see the Don!"

End Chapter

**A/N:** And there you have it! Tails is now Talia, until he can get that stupid dress off him! I hope that this chapter was up to your specifications, I worked really hard on it. I decided to take a logical, yet humorous approach to this part of the story, as seen at the "Honey-Bee Inn" part of the story. I mean, why would Cloud decide to go in anyway? Did he somehow know about the underwear? Or was he more interested in the women? (Even though there wern't many in the first place.) Anyway, Tails is a little more modest in this story, but he has his moments. As well, how do you seriously make a dress in mere minutes? Oh well.

Ah yes, another thing too. It seems Cosmo has a bit of an evil streak in her. I mean, if you look at Aerith, she's always sweet, but you never know huh? I wanted to portray the sour side of Cosmo, while still putting her in character. But you gotta admit, she's a heck of a practical jokster. Maybe this personalty will appear again in later chapters? Who knows?

This chapter was hard to work with. Right when I finished it and uploaded it, I looked back again and found major errors in it, especially with the timing, so I went back, reworked it, and changed things around for it to fit within the timing. I hoped you enjoyed it.

The reason why nobody sees Corneo except his higher-ups and the women will be explained next chapter. But it has to do mainly with his appearance.

The next chapter is the second part of the cross dressing event, here's the preview!

Chapter 16 Preview:

Mayhem ensues as Cosmo and Tails, A.K.A. 'Talia,' infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion to find Cream. Things turn dicey as they line up in front of the most powerful Mobian in the slums, who finally makes his appearance, as Tails, Cream and Cosmo await their fate. (At least, we'll know why the Don's been horribly single for so long!) Who will be chosen to be the Don's unlucky bride? And what will happen to the others? This is a chapter you won't wanna miss! So STAY TUNED!

First thing's first. Welcome back Blue Mage! Haven't heard from that dude in a while, so its good to hear from you, glad you enjoyed the last two chapters! Thanks goes to Ri2, for sticking around so far. Yep, poor Cream... being bait is NEVER a fun thing. Especially if your bait for a perv. XD. Thanks also goes to Kitsune-SuperFox for reviewing. I'll try to get these chapters out faster, I'm doing my best! And the rest of you out there! Yeah! You all, reading this now! Take some time to review! If you got any ideas for stuff you want in the story, forward them to me and we'll see where it leads. But for now, try to review! :D And right now, I shall bid you, aideu. Until we meet again, my friends!

Zonic


	16. Cross Dressing Mayhem!

**A/N:** Back from the dead, it's Zonic the Zone Cop, bringing you a new chapter after a hiatus of over 6 months, which, by the way, was not totally my fault.

...

Ok, maybe it was, but part of it was caused by my brick of a laptop frying on me, forcing myself to send it for repairs. Then writer's block hit, not to mention school...

The rest is history at the moment. But still, I got through it and I churned out this chapter!

By the way, Happy New Year to all, though it is pretty late to say that...

Anyways, enjoy the new chapter! This one's a lot of fun! :D

Chapter 16: Cross-Dressing Mayhem

Mobians walking down the street couldn't help but stare at the two beautiful girls sashaying up to the Don's mansion.

Part of the reason why, however, involved one of them carrying a gigantic sword with one hand.

Tails kept his head bowed down as Mobians murmured and whispered about him. _'Oh man,_' he thought, embarrassed. '_This really sucks..._' He tightened his grip on his massive sword, seeing as he couldn't place it on his back like usual.

'_If I did that, Cosmo would definitely kill me,_' he believed, shooting a glance at the red-dressed Interbred.

Cosmo was smiling ear to ear as many of the citizens of the town wolf-whistled and hooted at both of them. She blew kisses and threw winks at many of them, while holding a bag with both her and Tails' normal clothing, their items and her retractable staff inside.

"Ahh," she sighed happily, turning her head to Tails as they walked. "Me public," she said cheerfully.

Tails glared at her. "At least you're happy," he muttered to her.

They entered the merchant's tent, still empty. Tails pondered on that note.

'_They must open on a specific day,_' he suspected as he and Cosmo walked towards one of the stalls near the actual mansion.

"OK Tails, we'll hide our stuff here," she informed him, placing the bag in between two stalls. "When things start to get rough, I'll run a diversion while you get our stuff, especially our weapons."

"I honestly don't like that plan, it's too dangerous," Tails mentioned, placing his sword in the alcove with the bag.

"Deal with it," Cosmo declared, throwing a cloth over the hiding spot and walking towards the mansion. "You're already in a dress, might as well just go with the rest of my plan now."

Tails sighed and said nothing.

The walked up to the lizard guarding the door. Said lizard dropped his jaw at the sight of two beautiful ladies.

"Hot DAMN!" he yowled, eying the pair. "You and your friend are smoking! Come on in!"

He opened the door slightly, poking his head inside. "Two hotties coming through!" he yelled.

Cosmo rolled her eyes. Tails face-palmed, then turned to Cosmo.

"This is degrading," Tails whispered to Cosmo.

Cosmo smiled at him. "Now you know how WE feel," she stated, winking at him.

The door opened and the pair made their way inside..

* * *

Inside, they were met with a snake, wearing a body cover that looked like a suit. "Welcome ladiesssss," he hissed at the twosome, smiling. "I will let the Don know that you have arrived. Pleassssse wait here and do not wander." With that, the snake slithered upstairs to the second floor, and opened the central door slightly, closing it with his tail.

Cosmo looked around, then nodded to Tails. "OK, coast is clear," she announced. "Let's find Cream."

Finding little on the first floor, they proceeded up to the second floor, consisting of three doors. Two were locked, while the third was left open, leading to a staircase going down.

Tails' hearing picked up light breathing. '_It must be Cream's,_' he surmised. Nodding to Cosmo, they both entered the door and traversed down the stairs.

At the bottom, Tails was perplexed at what he saw. Inside the dank basement, were what looked like torture devices, only instead of delivering excruciating pain, they delivered pain on a sexual level.

'_Wow, this guy must be really into his BDSM..._' he surmised. Seeing Cream, he stopped, suddenly embarrassed due to the current situation.

Cosmo walked ahead of him and approached Cream, who was standing at the end of the room, back towards her. "Excuse me, are you Cream?" she asked.

Cream spun around abruptly, watching her carefully. _'Who is this girl and how does she know my name?_' she thought. Realizing that she was waiting for her to speak, she answered. "Yes, yes I am, why?"

"I'm Cosmo, nice to meet you," Cosmo replied immediately, smiling. "Tails has told me a lot about you."

Cream's eyes widened. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You were the girl with Tails in the park..."

Cosmo nodded. "Right, with Tails," she said. Noticing the slightly crestfallen expression on Cream's face, she quickly reprimanded herself. "Oh, hey, don't worry. We just met, it's nothing."

"Hm? What do you mean 'don't worry?' About what?" Cream asked, slightly confused. Then it dawned on her. "Oh! No please, don't misunderstand, Tails and I grew up together and we're childhood friends, nothing more," she replied hastily.

Cosmo laughed, looking behind where Tails stood. "Aw, poor Tails, standing there like he's not wanted," she joked lightheartedly, motioning for him to come. "Come on over here, I know you want to talk to her!"

Tails gulped, walking forward with his head bowed down, eyes to the floor. As soon as his eyes met Cream's tiny feet in blue pumps, his eyes screwed shut.

Cream leaned forward, observing Tails from head to toe. After a few moments, slowly, Tails opened an eye, revealing a shining, blue iris. Cream gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Tails!" she exclaimed, jumping a foot off the floor in surprise. Instantly, her expression changed into a more serious and worried tone and she began to bombard him with questions. "Why are you dressed like that?! And what are you doing here?! Oh wait, forget that, what happened to you after the fall!? Are you hurt? Your tails OK? You-"

Tails rose his hands up to interrupt. "Hey, hey! Gimme a chance to answer," he said, then he took a breath."I'm dressed like this because..."

While physically listening to Tails' explanation, mentally, Cream wanted to howl in laughter. _'Oh. My. Goodness!_' she thought, fighting off every urge to laugh uncontrollably. '_This has to be THE funniest thing I've ever seen! Aw, I WISH I had a camera for this!_'

"...Cosmo helped me out." Cream's train of thought was broken at the mention of the flower girl.

Her eyes looked to the floor slowly. "Oh, Cosmo did..." she said softly, until Tails interrupted.

"Cream, explain," he cut it. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

Cream looked back to Cosmo, looking apprehensive. Cosmo got the message.

"Ahem," Cosmo coughed, getting the attention of both of them. "I'll be over there, plugging my ears." With that, she moved to the other end of the room, plugging her ears slightly so that she could eavesdrop on the conversation. '_I feel bad for doing this, but I'm curious to see what kind of relationship Tails and Cream have,_' she reasoned to herself.

Cream smiled softly at Tails, once Cosmo's back was turned away from them. "I'm so glad you're OK Tails," she said.

Tails nodded, giving a small smile of his own. "Thanks," he replied. "So what's the situation here?"

Cream nodded, looking seriously at Tails. "It all started after the the Number 5 explosion..."

* * *

Cosmo listened in on every word, silently gasping at certain parts. '_I never knew Tails was part of the bombings? I know he's a mercenary, but still. And Cream? A sweet girl like her in a terrorist organization? I honestly couldn't see her like that,_' she speculated, eavesdropping more. _'Truthfully, I actually support TORNADO and it's mission, but I wouldn't have thought that they would resort to terrorist bombings to make their message heard..._'

Listening further, her eyes narrowed. '_So, the reason Cream's here is because she wants to know how Corneo knows about TORNADO. That could be kinda troublesome, seeing as he's looking for a bride... Maybe if I help them out, gain their trust, then I could probably talk to Cream about what she knows about my boyfriend? It's worth a shot,_' she reasoned, looking back to the two. Seeing as they were done talking, she walked up to them.

"Sorry, I overheard," she said, smiling despite Tails rolling his eyes at her. "If you know the three girls, then it shouldn't be hard..."

Tails interrupted. "No way, Cosmo!" he exclaimed at her. "I can't have you getting involved in this."

Cosmo looked slyly at Tails, turning her head to the side. "Oh?" she said mockingly, "so it's OK for Cream to be in danger?"

Tails looked at her, frustrated. "No, I don't want Cream to be..." he started, exasperatedly, until Cream walked up to Cosmo, interrupting him.

"Is it alright?" The bunny girl asked, eying her suspiciously.

Cosmo smiled genuinely. "Of course it is," she exclaimed. "I grew up here in the Pits, I'm pretty much used to danger by now."

She walked towards the stairs leading upward, Cream following her closely. Cosmo stopped at the base of the stairway, whipped around quickly to face her and put on a serious look. "Do you trust me?" she asked, bluntly.

Cream matched the hard expression with one of her own. "I do," she answered, in the same tone.

They stared at each other for some time...

Then Cosmo smiled.

Then Cream.

And Tails was left beside the torture rack, flabbergasted.

'_It's like... they condensed YEARS of conversation into a few minutes and a couple of looks..._' he observed. '_How they do that, I will probably never know. I may be dressed like one, but Source, I will never understand women..._'

All of a sudden, a slithery voice pierced the dungeon, echoing around the dank room. "He----y! It'ssssssss time, ladiessss," the snake called from the top of the stairs. "The Don issssss waiting." He then slithered away, muttering to himself. "I told them not to wander around... Women nowadayssssssss."

Cream recovered first from the surprise. "We'd better get going," she said. Looking towards Cosmo, she smiled softly. "Thank you for helping us out, Ms. Cosmo," she mentioned, sheepishly.

"Ah! No-no-no-no-no!" Cosmo exclaimed dramatically, wagging her finger at Cream. "No Ms. Just Cosmo. Heck, you only look like you're around my age anyways!"

"Uh..." a voice broke out between the girls' chatter. It was Tails, still wearing the dress. "I probably shouldn't ask... but the third girl's... gonna be me, isn't it?" he questioned, hesitantly, shuffling his toe and scratching the back of his head in complete embarrassment.

Cream looked at Tails, then Cosmo, with a devilish smile on her pretty lips. "You're right," she replied. "There was no need..."

"...to ask," Cosmo finished for her, looking at her with an identical look on her own face.

'_Oh Source, I'm boned,_' Tails thought sadly. He walked up and started climbing the stairs, turning back to the girls. "I'll lead, you guys follow behind," he mumbled. With that, he turned around and stomped up the stairs... Or stomped as well as he could, despite wearing dainty shoes.

While following behind, Cream, remembering Tails' amazing hearing, mouthed to Cosmo, so she wouldn't be heard. "How did you get him in that dress!?"

Cosmo smirked and mouthed back. "It's a long story, and I have it on film!" She tapped her purse, which held the camera she purchased recently.

Cream bit her knuckles to stop herself from laughing out loud, while Cosmo giggled lightly. Noticing Tails' 'stomps' were becoming progressively quieter, they hurried up the stairs to meet him.

* * *

"Alright ladies, line up in front of the Don!"

Tails, Cosmo and Cream emerged in the middle room, which was usually locked. Inside was a lavishly decorated room, filled with gaudy, gold objects and foreign rugs. Exotic plants were positioned in the corners of the room and statues of what looked like a freakishly ugly toad were lined up against the wall. Towards the back, there was a polished desk with gold trim. Behind it, was a screen and curtains that acted as a door to Corneo's inner chambers.

Kotch, a bull-elephant Mobian, wearing a red vest, sunglasses and a mohawk, and Scotch, a large, gorilla Mobian in a green bodysuit, stood at the end of the room, eying the women and Tails without inhibition. They acted as Corneo's right hand men and were the only members of his organization, along with the brides-to-be, to actually see him.

Suddenly, the screen was pulled away. "The Honorable Don Corneo will now present himself to you lucky beauties," Scotch proclaimed. "Be proud, for you will be in the presence of the king of the Megapolis Pits!"

The curtains were drawn away, and out stepped a figure so hideous that Tails, Cosmo and Cream looked straight to the floor upon seeing an INCH of him, in fear of losing more than just their lunches.

A large, and incredibly ugly looking, yellow-crested, horned toad stepped out of the back. He donned a red robe with white fur lining on the collar and cuffs, over top of a blue smock and frilly trousers in brown slippers. He had oily, revolting, yellow eyes on top of a gaping mouth and an extremely fake-looking, black, curly mustache and goatee.

He waddled in front of the desk, cackling gleefully at the two pretty women and Tails. "Croak! Hmm! Good, splendid!" he exclaimed in his slick, repulsive voice. "Now, which one should I choose?"

Corneo inspected the women carefully. He walked up to Cosmo first watching her lecherously. "Should I choose this one? Croak!" he gasped, walking past Tails towards Cream. He viewed her more intensely than he did with Cosmo, focusing most of his attention towards her chest. "Or, Croak! This one?" he muttered to himself, walking back to Tails.

He tried to get a closer look at Tails, who kept avoiding his glances, both in fear and embarrassment. He started getting aroused; there, in front of him was a mysterious girl who would not look him in the eye... He HAD to get to know her better!

"Croak! I have made my decision!" Corneo shouted. Both the girls and Tails held their breaths...

...

...

...

"This healthy-looking one!" He exclaimed, pointing a webbed finger at Tails.

All kinds of emotions and mental thoughts broke out in an instant.

Cosmo and Creams jaws dropped in shock._ 'By The Source! I can't believe Tails is prettier than me!_' they both thought at the same time.

Tails, however, was literally sweating bullets. "Wait a sec!" he replied in his normal voice, before remembering what situation he was in. "I mean, um, please wait a moment!" he said in his girl voice instead. Luckily, Corneo was busy doing a victory dance to notice Tails speak.

'_Shit, __Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, SHI-----------T!!!_' Tails panicked in his head. '_This is NOT happening! Oh Source, I must be Mobius' little bitch... Why me?_'

He looked at the other two, Cosmo and Cream. They nodded tersely, knowing what must be done.

'_I gotta stall for time..._' Tails ruminated. Corneo interrupted his thoughts.

"Alright my little hard-to-get chickie! Croak!" he called. "Come to daddy!" He turned to his men, "You can have the other two, Croak!"

"Thank you, sir!" they said, saluting, and motioning the two girls out of the room. Tails was alone.

Corneo grinned; a very disturbing sight to behold. "Well then, shall we?" he asked in his oily voice.

'_I hope they'll be alright,_' Tails thought as he entered Don Corneo's inner chambers. '_For MY sake..._'

* * *

"Yes! I get the busty bunny!" Scotch shouted excitedly, pumping his large fist in the air. The two Mobians had a rock-paper-scissors contest to see which one would get Cream.

Cream inwardly gagged. '_So this is how it ends, being competition for a couple of pigs... figuratively speaking of course..._' she ruminated. She shot a look of determination to Cosmo, who was led to the dungeon by Kotch.

Cosmo returned that look and nodded slightly as she was being led down. '_We're not just gonna take this, that's for sure,_' Cosmo realized. '_We may look like weak, little women in pretty clothes, but these guys are about to find out the hard way that we're not objects..._'

Meanwhile, Cream was led into the other room on the second floor. Inside, the room was filled with male Mobians, eagerly awaiting the beautiful girl they were given by their boss.

'_I'm in trouble now..._' Cream figured when she entered the room. She suddenly recalled a memory of the past. '_... I remember something my Master once told me during training: As a female, I have the advantage over males due to my feminine ways... If I can charm these men and lull them into a false sense of security, I may be able to win!_' She shook her head in guilt as she walked towards the back, men following her every move. '_I know I told myself to forget the past and move on but... old training habits die hard I guess..._' she reminisced.

Cream stopped and faced her growing crowd. "Wait!" she said, surprising the mob. Putting on her most innocent look, she placed a finger on her bottom lip, pressing it slightly, innocently, while looking at the large group with fluttering eyelashes. "Can't I at least... put on a show first?" she asked sweetly, mentally puking at the way she acted for the moment.

The men, who were literally bowing at her feet at this moment, moved back, giving Cream space to put on her "show." Cream turned around, her hand covertly slipping into her bag which held her gloves, and started moving her body seductively, swaying her hips side to side, causing the men to become enthralled.

She then took one strap of her dress and slid it slowly down her shoulder, looking back and giving her most sexiest wink, all the while pulling on her gloves expertly and kicking off her pumps.

Cream surveyed her current situation. '_Alright,_' she examined. '_They should be too busy staring to realize they're all in trouble._' She turned around, hands behind her back, and sashayed up to the crowd.

When she neared a skinny, Goat Mobian, she whipped out her fists and gave him a double-handed punch to the face, followed by a back-hand at the next nearest Mobian.

All hell broke loose at that moment, and Cream was in the center of it all; dodging, weaving and attacking every chance she got.

Five minutes later, nine broken bodies lay on the floor, groaning in pain, while Cream dusted herself off and picked up her bag. "I'd apologize, if I wasn't so disgusted with you all," she remarked coldly, walking to the door. As soon as she exited the room, a piercing scream rang from the dungeon.

"Oh no, Cosmo!" Cream yelled. Rushing to the entrance to the basement, she was surprised to see Cosmo walking up calmly, as if nothing ever happened.

"Cosmo, what just happened? What was that scream?" Cream asked, relieved that her new friend was OK.

Cosmo smirked evilly. "Let's just say it involved a torture rack, an elephant and painful instruments rammed in a certain place," she said simply. "Nothing bad happened to me, of course. However, we should hurry and help Tails before he gets man-raped by an ugly toad," she remarked, humor laced in her voice.

"Cosmo! That was really inappropriate!" Cream said, looking at her with exasperation. Cosmo rolled her eyes.

"Jeez! I was just kidding," she retaliated. "But seriously, we gotta get our stuff from outside first before we can save Tails, and that includes his sword."

"I'll take care of that," Cream said, nodding while pulling on her regular clothes. "Let's just hurry..."

* * *

'_Oh shit, I'm gonna get man-raped by this ugly toad if they don't get here soon..._' Tails thought as Corneo sat on his bed, with it hardly supporting his girth.

"Croak! Now that we are finally alone, we can have some fun together, baby!" Corneo croaked as he thrusted his lower body rhythmically towards Tails, who shrunk towards the wall. Corneo stopped and frowned. "Now, now my little vixen, don't be shy," he coaxed. "Come and play with Daddy! Croak!"

'_Oh damnit I'm gonna be sick,_' Tails concluded, bringing his hand to his mouth to hold in his bile. '_I hope those two are OK though..._'

"Uh... I dunno," Tails mumbled loud enough for Corneo to hear. The ugly toad frowned once more.

"Croak! You... You don't like me?" he inquired curiously. "Well, is there someone else?"

Tails shifted his weight and contemplated his situation. '_OK Tails, think! You need some way to both stall for time and get some information out of this toad..._' He contemplated. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he then felt the urge to face-palm due to the current idea that formed in his head. '_Oh shit, I can't believe I have to say this... Thank the Source that Bark isn't here to hear this..._'

"Um, yes, yes there is," Tails said in his most feminine voice. "His name's... Bark."

Corneo did a double-take. "No way! Croak!" he exclaimed, looking shocked, but his face turned from surprised to curious. "Bark? That sounds pretty familiar..." he mentioned.

"Yeah, you know, he's a part of the group you were trying to find out about," Tails said, moving away from the wall and straightening up his posture. "You know, TORNADO?"

Folding his arms, Corneo tried to remember. "Hmm, yeah, yeah. That one in the Sector 7 slum, Croak!" he said. He suddenly pointed a webbed finger at Tails, accusingly. "And how do YOU know that!?" he demanded.

Tails smirked. "Simple," he said, pulling off his wig to reveal his true self. '_Finally,_' he added in his head as he removed the fake hair. '_That thing was starting to itch real bad, too._'

"What! A man! You tricked me!" Corneo shouted, jumping up and down on his bed. "Somebody get in here now!"

"Unfortunately, no one's gonna be comin' to help you any time soon..." a voice called out from outside the chamber.

The curtains were ripped open and out walked Cosmo, pointing dramatically at Corneo. "It's over buddy, you're gonna tell us what you know!" she exclaimed.

Cream was behind her, dragging Tails' sword. Even with her prodigal strength, she could barely lift it. Corneo's eyes widened at the sight of it.

She dropped the sword, which made a loud clunking noise, and looked at Tails, irritation in her eyes. "Tails, how can you carry that sword?!" she asked incredulously. "That thing weighs over a hundred pounds!"

Tails merely shrugged and walked out to change back into his clothes, picking up the Buster Sword with one hand on the way out.

* * *

_Five Minutes Later..._

'_Ahh... That's much better,_' Tails thought to himself as he re-entered the chamber in his regular clothes and sword on his back once again. '_Though, I still smell like a girl, stupid perfume..._'

Cream nodded to him when he emerged, then faced Corneo, cracking her knuckles at the same time. "Now that everyone's here, I'd like to ask a few..." but before she could finish, Cosmo interrupted.

"Hold on, waitaminute!" she exclaimed, looking at Cream with an incredulous expression on her face. "That's not how you do an interrogation! You gotta be more forceful!" she said to Cream.

Cream looked at her glumly. "Alright, I'll try..." she muttered, then looked at Corneo. "Alright you, what did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us..." she raised her leg on top of the bed and rested her hand on her knee, then continued with a sinister tone in her voice. "I'll rip them off."

Corneo paled. "No! Not that! Anything but that! Croak!" he spluttered. "I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Cream gave him a level stare. "So... talk," she said. _'Well, that worked,_' she reflected as an afterthought.

"...I made them find out location of the gun-arm guy's hideout, but that was all I was ordered to do!" he said, then immediately closed his mouth. "Urp!"

Cream jumped on that statement. "Wait! Someone ORDERED you to do that?" she questioned fiercely. "Who was it?! Talk! If you don't tell us..." she looked in Cosmo's direction.

Cosmo got the message. Placing her leg on top of the bed like Cream did, she gave Corneo a twisted stare. "I'll smash them," she said, simply.

Corneo's teeth started to chatter in fear. Suddenly, he snapped. "Wahhhhhhhh!!! It was Kodos of Kintobor!" he hollered. "Kodos, the head of the Public Safety Maintenance Department!"

Tails' eyes narrowed. "Head of Public Safety Maintenance? Kintobor's involved in this?!" he said, glaring at Corneo.

"What?! Kintobor's involved?!" Cream interrogated, scowling at the ugly toad. "What are they up to?! Talk! If you don't tell us..."

She stopped and looked at Tails expectantly. Cosmo followed suit.

Tails rose one eyebrow, then both in surprise, caught off guard by the girls' piercing glares. "Oh!" he mumbled in surprise. Drawing his sword, he pointed it at Corneo, eyes blazing. "I'll chop them off," he said, venomously.

Corneo looked as if he was going to faint."Oh boy... Ohboy, ohboy, ohboy," he stammered. "Y-You're serious, aren't you? Well I'm not kidding either. Croak!" He cleared his throat, then continued. "Kintobor's trying to crush a small rebel group called TORNADO. And they'll literally do that too, by breaking the Plate support pillar!"

Cream widened her eyes in fear. "Break the support?!" she yelled, interrupting.

Corneo continued on. "Well, you know what's gonna happen right? The plate will go PING! And everything'll go BAMM!" he exclaimed gleefully, then calming down, he wiped his deformed brow. "I heard their hideout is somewhere in Sector 7, thank the Source it's not here in Sector 6."

Cream's eyes widened like saucers. '_Oh no! Bark! Hope! Everyone!_' she panicked mentally. She turned to Tails in distress. "Sector 7's going to be destroyed! Tails you have to come and help!" she cried.

Tails nodded. "Right, let's go," he answered.

Before they could leave however, Don Corneo intervened. "Croak! Wait, wait!" he called out, before the three could leave.

Tails turned around and shot him a glare. "Shut it, toad!" he shouted, startling him.

Quickly regaining his composure, Corneo grinned. "Just wait one moment," he said. "How do you think scum like me feels when they blab on the truth? Croak!" he asked, suppressing a smile.

Tails caught the look in his eyes, brows furrowing. Before he could say anything, Corneo flipped a switch and a trapdoor beneath Tails and company opened, leaving a hole, in which Tails, Cream and Cosmo all fell into!

Grinning, Corneo leaned over the bed where he watched as Tails and his friends fell into the sewers below. "They're sure that they're gonna win! Croak!" he answered his own question with glee. "Have fun with my pet Aps! Wah-hah-hah-hoo!! Croak!!!" he called as the threesome fell deeper and deeper...

End Chapter

**A/N:** And that's that for this installment. Here's the preview for the next chapter!

Chapter 17 Preview:

Tails, Cream and Cosmo wind up in the sewers, battling for their lives against the horribly mutated Aps! Meanwhile, Kintobor Inc. is about to put their plans into motion, mainly destroying TORNADO and the rest of Sector 7! Will Tails and the others survive the onslaught of Aps to reach Sector 7 in time? Or is TORNADO finished? These questions and more will be answered, in the next chapter of Mobius VII!

Hopefully, the next one won't take so long, but that's only if you guys encourage me to write! So send a shout out to me, it'll make my muse happy, or at least co-operative enough to write the next one quicker! (They don't make muses like they used to...)

Thanks (finally) goes to Blue Mage Quartet and Kitsune-SuperFox for reviewing. Sorry for the lateness guys! And again, REVIEW!

See ya in the next installment:

Zonic


	17. The Race to Sector 7

**A/N:**

Seems like I'm back from the dead. Again. After two F***in years... To all my fans, I'm so sorry :(. Life has been hectic these past two years and I really have to make it up to all of you. Thus, the current chapter you see right now. I'm actually up to Chapter 20, but in truth, I want to finish up this thing first before submitting everything all at once. So I'm working on finishing Book I before anything else. Might throw up a one shot for the hell of it as well: Two years brings a lot of ideas to the table.

Speaking of Book I, I'm pegging the length at 35 chapters, maybe more, maybe less. Seeing as I'm only at chapter 20, I got a long way to go. But stick around if you can or if you want, I don't mind :D.

* * *

Chapter 17: The Race to Sector 7

Kintobor Egg Building: 70th Floor: President's Office: 10:30 PM M.S.T.

Heavy, black boots clunked up the steps to President Kintobor's office. Upon reaching the top, villainous eyes, blacker than night, searched around until he found who he was looking for.

"Kodos of Public Safety Maintenance, reporting," Kodos announced, saluting smartly to President Gerald Kintobor, then adding in a venomous undertone, "Sir."

President Kintobor stood behind his desk, facing the window, focusing his attention towards Sector 7. "Hmph, how are the preparations going?" he asked sharply, not even bothering to regard the orange and brown furred Lion Mobian.

Kodos scowled. '_I'd pay good money to see him put on ice... permanently,_' he thought to himself. "Preparations are underway, I have assigned the Chaotix Unit to this task," he answered.

Kintobor scoffed. "That miserable excuse for a GUN unit? They couldn't even capture that Ancient!" he roared furiously at Kodos, facing him. "I want you to send the Gems Unit instead, I know MY personnel would probably get the job done better than your unit could ever HOPE to achieve," he ordered, glaring at Kodos, then focusing his attention back to the window.

His patience shattering, Kodos' temper took a hold of him. "Sir!" he bellowed. "My unit WILL bring success this time around. If we don't, then you can roboticize the lot of us, myself included!" He gnashed his jaws after he finished his outburst. '_He may be the boss, but I will not allow him to disgrace my Mobian-only unit! This human may have been in charge since the Great War ended, but I will not allow him to sully MY pride!_' he resolved, glaring openly at Kintobor.

Kintobor whirled around, staring hard at Kodos. '_This filthy Mobian..._' he mused to himself. '_He thinks his unit can do the job? Fine then, I'll let him. Then I will watch from above while his pitiful Chaotix flail about with their animal stupidity, fail the mission and return to be roboticized, along with that disgusting Kodos, wherein afterwards, I will send in my Gems Unit, assembled of ONLY humans, to take care of the mess themselves...'_ Realizing that he was lost in thought, he turned back around to face the window. "Fine, send the Chaotix unit, I expect results." he ordered calmly. "If you do fail this mission, the unit will be roboticized, along with you."

"Fine, thank you... sir," Kodos answered, and preceded to turn and walk away from the vile human, when he heard the sounds of footsteps rushing up the stairs to the 70th floor.

Catching for breath at the top of the stairs, Christopher Thorndyke looked to the president. "Mr... huff... President!" he gasped, then picked himself up and allowed his breathing to return to normal. "Are you really going to do this? Destroy an entire Sector just to get rid of a small group of..."

"What's wrong Mr. Thorndyke?" Kintobor interrupted, his glasses flashing with the glare of the ceiling lights as he faced Chris. "Do you want out?"

'_Yes! Yes! This is madness! Lunacy!_' Chris' inner voice told him, but he merely shook his head. "...No," he answered after a pause, then continued. "However, as the head of the Urban Development Department, I am in charge of the building and operation of Megapolis, that's why..."

"Hah!" The voice beside him interrupted. Kodos smirked at Chris, shaking his head. "Poor, poor kid," he childed. "You should flush those personal problems of yours down the drain in the morning, it'll make it easier to live that way!" He started laughing.

Chris hung his head, cheeks darkening. '_Damnit..._' he ruminated. '_Why does everyone have to treat me like I'm a naïve kid? Like I don't know that Kintobor Inc. does some... dirty dealings to get the job done. However, this is going way too far..._' Shaking his head, he looked to the president. "Besides, the Mayor is against this," he mentioned, hoping to get some sort of response that will make them realize that the plan was insane.

His hopes were crushed by the sounds of the Lion Mobian laughing harder. "Hah ha ha ha ha! Kid, you're too much!" he exclaimed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, then turned serious. "Mayor? You mean Buliani? He just sits there and feeds his face! You still call that a Mayor, kid? Huh?" he asked, approaching Chris, using his size to intimidate him.

Chris stood his ground, looking in Kodos' eyes with determination.

"Hmph, forget you kid, I got more important things to deal with," Kodos concluded. With a salute, he marched down the stairs, pulling out his PHS. Chris started to chase after him to try to reason with him, when he was stopped by Kintobor.

"Thorndyke, I think you've been working too hard." he said, with fake sympathy. "Go, leave right now and take a couple of days off, I think you deserve it."

"...Yes sir..." Chris muttered, starting to walk away when Kintobor stopped him again.

"Hold on," he called, smiling falsely. "How's that pet project coming along? I want to see it when it is finished." he mentioned to Chris. "Artificial Intelligence... Wasn't that your major?"

"Yes..." Chris said softly. "I minored in Urban Studies, like my father did when he worked here. The project is still being worked on, has a few bugs to work out, but it's almost done."

"Yes, yes... good job," Kintobor applauded, then added solemnly, "Your father was a good man," even though he did not remember the man who worked before Chris. "Well, anyway, go take a vacation, you earned it."

Chris nodded then left. Soon the top floor was devoid of life, save Kintobor, who returned to his window, looking down on Sector 7. He snickered softly to himself, stroking his long moustache.

"We will destroy Sector 7 and report that TORNADO did it," he said to himself softly, focusing his attention to the aforementioned Sector. "Then we will send in the rescue operation care of Kintobor Inc. ... Heh heh heh... This is perfect... At least those poor, troubled souls will die in their sleep," he mentioned, sighing. "Even though I will lose taxpayers on top, at least those Mobians in the slums will be taken care of... Heh heh heh... HAH HA HA HA HA!"

* * *

Sector 6 Sewers: Underneath Corneo Mansion: 10:32 pm M.S.T.

Sliding down the chute leading from Don Corneo's mansion to the murky sewers below, Tails' group landed with a resounding splash.

Recovering almost instantly after the fall, Tails immediately rushed to Cream's side. "You alright Cream?" he asked, lending an arm for her to take.

"Oh, this is terrible..." Cream muttered as she rose, taking Tails' arm. She checked herself for injuries after she stood up and then gasped. "Oh no! Our items? What happened to them?" she questioned Tails, slightly frantic.

"Don't worry, I got them," Cosmo said, rising from her spot as well, holding a satchel. Tails' eyes widened at the realization.

'_Oh crap..._' he thought. Clearing his throat, he looked in Cosmo's direction. "You alright Cosmo?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said simply. Her mind said differently. '_Thanks for asking "Bodyguard",_' she thought, fuming to herself. Then she realized something, after looking in Tails' eyes. '_He did it again... just like when we were at my place... his eyes looked less like my boyfriend's and more like... his own..._' she surmised, as she fixed herself up. '_I have a feeling that Tails DID know my boyfriend... perhaps Cream might have known him too if Tails knew him... I mean, they are pretty close from what I see,_' she pondered, analyzing the two in front of her.

After she finished dusting herself off, Cosmo smiled at the two. "Well at least the worst is over," she said brightly.

The moment she stopped talking, loud, growling noises were heard from a hole in the wall which used to house a large sewer grate. Two, large yellow eyes peered out of this hole, narrowing them.

Suddenly, the figure in the hole emerged, revealing a monstrously grotesque, mutated creature. It had bluish skin from its head to its torso, beyond it, were two stumpy-looking hooves covered in dirty, brown fur. The monster's face was horribly disfigured; a long, round snout, yellow eyes set deep into its skull, a pair of horns on its head, which was also covered with the same dirty brown fur, shaped into a messy mohawk. But what was truly horrifying was its mouth. Large, full of deformed, rotten teeth with a long tongue, curled up inside.

The monster, known as Aps, roared and beat his chest with arms the size of tree trunks, broken, metal shackles attached to the wrists. He went on all fours and charged at the threesome, repugnant water sloshing around it as it moved.

Tails and company jumped out of harm's way as Aps passed them. Tails looked at Cosmo's direction, on the other side of the room, and narrowed his eyes. "You were saying?" he retorted to her, facing the monster and placing a free hand on his arm, drawing out the Ice Emerald's power in his armor slot. He focused his attention to a specific point on the monster; the area between his eyes.

"ICE!" he called, the blue energy shooting from his palms and striking Aps between the eyes. The monster stopped and brought its hands up to its face, rubbing the irritated spot. Tails drew his sword and rushed the beast, jumping up and slashing it on its arm.

The Buster Sword had minimal effect as the skin was tough and leathery, making it hard to cut through cleanly. Tails swore as Aps recovered and swatted him with its powerful arms, sending him flying into a wall.

Cream and Cosmo hurried to Tails' side as he peeled himself off the wall, dazed from the impact. Cream reached first and turned around, charging a Fire spell, while Cosmo reached into the pack and pulled out a vial of Potion to give to Tails.

Fire seemed more effective as the creature flailed about in pain. Cream ran up to Aps's legs and performed a running side kick to its knee as it was writhing. The beast howled in pain as it stumbled around, hitting the walls before falling into the dirty sewer water.

Cream stared hard at the monster, who slowly started to rise. '_We don't have time for this!_' she thought to herself, images of the plate falling running through her head. '_Bark, Hope, everyone's in danger! I'm finishing this, right NOW!_'

Her body started to exude a green aura, which then concentrated onto her fists. Cream exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding in and made a break towards the fallen mutant, dodging its attacks with incredible dexterity. Upon reaching the monster's face, she stopped and, using the momentum generated from her sudden halt, threw a flurry of fists at Aps' face; all her strikes hitting precisely. Cream jumped back towards the others and closed her eyes.

'_Zangan-ryu, first combination; Beat Rush,_' she recited mentally as Aps became lifeless on the sewer floor. The others watched in silence, amazed as Cream single-handedly defeated the mutant creature. Cosmo was the first to break that silence with a cheer.

"Wow Cream, you rock!" she exclaimed, grinning and pumping her fist in the air. Tails threw in a rare smile of his own.

"That was amazing," he mumbled loud enough for Cream to hear, causing her to blush slightly.

As they were talking, the three did not realize that Aps was rising stealthily. Getting back on its feet, it let out a mighty roar, surprising the threesome, and charged head long into them.

They were caught off guard.

They had no time to prepare.

All that was left was for them to be trampled to death.

Until Cosmo stepped in, her eyes turning milky-white, her body exuding a similar green aura Cream produced, except it was more pronounced. She grabbed her staff from her back, expanded it and spoke with a loud booming voice while spinning her rod.

"Seal! All! Evil!"

She swung her staff forward, pointing it at Aps. Suddenly, Aps became completely still; frozen in mid-run.

"Tails," Cosmo said in an echoing voice unlike her own. "Use your sword. Stab it at the base of its neck." She then dropped to her knees in exhaustion.

Moving quickly, as the effect on Aps was wearing off, Tails made a mad dash to the mutant, leaped up its arm, swung around to the back of its neck, drew his sword and stabbed it hard into the area Cosmo told him to attack. The area there was soft and easy to penetrate compared to its normal, leathery hide.

The spell wore off, and Aps, in mid-roar, became silent and fell once again, never to awaken anymore. Tails jumped off its back and sheathed his sword, hurrying back towards Cream and Cosmo.

Cream was attending to Cosmo, whose eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly. Cream smiled softly. "You're OK," she whispered to her.

Cosmo groaned and sat up on the damp floor. "Oh, what happened? Did we win?" she questioned in a weak voice.

Tails' eyes widened. '_She doesn't remember?_' he asked himself. "Yeah, we did," he said to her as he and Cream helped Cosmo up onto her feet. "Its weak spot was the back of its neck, I have you to thank for that."

Cosmo looked at him questionably. "I said that?" she asked, confused, looking at both of them with a dazed expression. Her mind said differently; she started to panic in her head. '_Oh snap... I've must've used my powers!_' Her mind races for explanations on how it happened, but she couldn't find one. Before she could speak, Cream gasped.

"Oh no! The Plate!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand to her lips. "Bark, everyone... everyone's..."

"No! Don't give up!" Cosmo shouted, taking Cream's hands into her own. "Never, NEVER give up hope Cream! It's not easy to destroy the pillar, right?"

Cream looked down at her hands, then at Cosmo and Tails. She relaxed and smiled with determination. "You're right, we still have a chance and we still have time!" she said.

"Alright then, we should get going," Tails interrupted, walking ahead of the two. "Let's go."

Cosmo released a breath she did not know she held. '_Whoa, saved by Cream... But I wonder what WILL happen if they found out about my powers?_' She wondered. Seeing as the others were getting ahead of her, she snapped out of her trance and followed them out of the sewers.

* * *

Sector 7 Train Station; Train Graveyard: 11:14 pm M.S.T.

"Cosmo, I got you involved in all this..." Tails started, but Cosmo looked at him with a glare, stopping him mid-speech.

"Don't tell me to go home," she interrupted, looking with Cream at the wasteland in front of them.

They emerged from the sewers into Sector 7's infamous Train Graveyard; home to the broken down, defective and outdated trains that used to be in service in Megapolis. There was an eerie aura surrounding this place with train cars, steel drums and debris scattered all over the place, barring Tails and company passage to the slum. Above them, the unfinished areas on the Sector 7 plate gave them a view of the murky, dark skies, giving the train yard an even greater haunting presence.

Cream gave a look through of the yard, noticing the barely lit train cars. "Hey, everyone," she called, turning to them. "I think if we navigate through these lit train cars, we can find our way out of here." She then looked to Tails. "Can you lead the way?" she asked him.

Tails nodded. Cream smiled.

"Alright then, let's hurry," she said as Tails started moving through the first set of cars, Cream and Cosmo following somewhat closely behind.

When Tails was out of earshot, Cream leaned towards Cosmo and whispered into her ear. "So what was it that you used to stop that creature in its tracks?" she asked honestly.

Cosmo flinched. '_Spoke too soon..._' she berated to herself. She looked at Cream with a sad look in her eyes. "It's... it's something I can't tell just yet," she explained, hesitantly. "It's something I never tell anyone and I'm just not ready to tell yet."

Cream gave Cosmo her warmest smile. "It's alright, I understand," she reassured her, then chuckled to herself quietly.

Cosmo looked at her funny. "Huh? What's up with you?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," Cream said. "It's just that we've only met a few hours ago and I can already tell you and I are gonna be really good friends, Cosmo."

"You think so, Cream?" Cosmo inquired, surprised at what the bunny girl said.

Cream looked at her. "I know so," she finished, simply.

"Hey guys!" A voice broke out, ending the scene. "Hurry up, I don't wanna leave you both behind," said Tails, who was waiting for them ahead, on top of one of the train cars. "This place is pretty dangerous, we should stay together. That way, we'll have a lower probability of being ambushed."

Cream and Cosmo looked at each other, nodded and then resumed following Tails.

* * *

Sector 7 Slums: 11:20 pm M.S.T.

It was just an ordinary night in Sector 7. Shops were closing and Vanilla's Haven was starting to empty out for the night, due to the fact that its proprietor was out on business.

'_Business? Heh, yeah right,_' Bark mused as he stood on the bar patio, watching the customers leave. He looked at one of the saloon doors, on which a note was posted saying that Cream was out for the day. Bark scoffed and began to absentmindedly polish his Gun-Arm with his fur, lost in thought again.

'_Well, hopefully she's done with her "business," I'm starting to get worried... Where is..._'

The sounds of helicopter blades rang through the air, snapping Bark out of his thoughts. "The hell was that?" he muttered to himself. Walking out from beneath the patio awning to get a clearer picture, he saw Kintobor helicopters flying towards the Plate support pillar. Bark's eyes narrowed.

'_This isn't good if Kintobor's involved,_' Bark thought to himself. Suddenly he heard screaming in the direction of the pillar.

A young deer Mobian was seen running away from the pillar towards Bark. "Bark! We're in trouble!" he screamed frantically. "Someone's messing around with the Plate support! I was there! I heard them say they were gonna destroy it!"

"WHAT!" Bark bellowed, his jaws clenched in anger. "They can't do that!" Growling in rage, he busted into the bar. "Biggs, Wedge, Jessie!" he called to his team. "Kintobor's gonna try to destroy us by breaking the support! We gotta move and stop them!"

The three humans nodded and ran out with their leader, hurrying to the top of the pillar support tower where the Plate controls were located.

Sector 7 entered into a mass panic. It was now a race against time itself...

* * *

Sector 7 Slums: Support Pillar: 11:38 pm M.S.T.

Tails, Cream and Cosmo arrived at a scene of pandemonium. Cream looked upwards towards the pillar. "Great! It's still standing!" she said, sighing in relief.

Tails' ears perked. "Wait... you hear that?" he asked his party.

Cream and Cosmo strained their hearing. "Gun fire?" Cosmo guessed, looking upwards, Tails and Cream following suit.

Above them, the members of TORNADO were fighting not only for their lives but for all of Sector 7 as they were giving their all to prevent Kintobor from destroying the Plate support. Humanoid, robotic drones with propellers for hands were zooming about, picking off the members of the terrorist organization one by one.

Biggs got shot in the shoulder and leg, falling hard to the ground. Jessie received a nasty gash to the stomach by one of the propeller drones. Finally, on top, Wedge was fighting his hardest, when a stray bullet struck him in the chest. He staggered backwards, stumbled off the edge and then fell to the ground, landing near Tails and the others.

Instantly, Cream was at his side, followed by Cosmo and Tails. She lifted his head gently. Wedge opened his eyes slowly. "You made it," he said weakly.

"Wedge!" Tails exclaimed. "You alright?"

Wedge laughed weakly, coughing up blood in the process. "Hey, you remembered my name," he managed to say before spitting out more blood. He raised his trembling hand towards Tails. Tails knelt down and caught it, holding his hand tightly. "Help... Bark... He's... Up top... And... Tails..." He smiled as he spoke with his dying breath. "Sorry... I wasn't... any... help..."

His arm became lifeless in Tails' hands. Tails' eyes narrowed hard and Cream let a tear fall, before she recovered and looked to Tails. They nodded to each other.

"I'm going up!" Tails announced rising from the spot. Facing Cosmo, he addressed her. "Cosmo, help everyone evacuate from the Sector!"

"I'm coming with you, Tails," Cream said, solemnly and then she looked to Cosmo as well. "Cosmo, I have a favor to ask," she explained to her. "I have a bar in this neighborhood, Vanilla's Haven. There's a little girl in there named Hope..."

Cosmo raised her hand, interrupting Cream. "Don't worry," she replied. "She's in good hands, I'll take her to some place safe."

Cream smiled and then looked to everyone at the site. "Everyone! It's too dangerous here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs to anyone who could hear her. "Everyone evacuate from the pillar and get out of Sector 7!"

Tails pulled out his sword, and cut through the fence blocking the stairs, Cream following along.

They were ambushed at all sides by the E-48 series robots; flying, humanoid robots with propellers for hands. Cream shot fireball after fireball, while Tails finished them off with a quick slice, ending the robots and allowing them to proceed quickly.

About a quarter ways up, they met with Biggs, who was trying to put pressure on his wounds. His shoulder was nearly blown off and his leg was damaged beyond repair. He looked up to see Tails and Cream watching him with concern. He looked to Tails and scoffed at him. "So Tails..." he mumbled to him. "You don't care... About... What happens... To Mobius?"

Tails shook his head. "You're injured, don't talk," he expressed.

"Heh... don't worry about me," Biggs replied. "Go help Bark. Both of you."

They nodded at him. Before proceeding, Biggs shouted out to Tails. "Hey!" he called to the two-tailed fox. "You haven't answered my question. I want one if we get out of this alive..."

Tails nodded solemnly. "Yeah," was his only answer before catching up with Cream to the top.

As they left, Biggs chuckled to himself. "I hope... you make the right... choice..." he muttered to himself, using his uninjured hand to adjust his headband. "Time to clock out."

* * *

Sector 7 Slum: Vanilla's Haven: 11:50 pm M.S.T.

Having evacuated the majority of the townspeople, Cosmo entered the bar and walked into a scene of chaos. The shop was literally smashed and broken up; the cash register was on the floor, emptied, the cabinets holding all the liquor broken in and pilfered of all its supplies and in the middle of it all, was a small, blonde-haired child, whimpering.

"Hey there," Cosmo called to the little girl. "Are you Hope? Don't worry, I'm a friend of Cream's"

Hope looked at Cosmo with a twinge of fear. "You won't hurt me?" she asked, cautiously.

Cosmo shook her head and extended her hand. "No way kiddo, I'm here to get you somewhere safe. Cream would be very upset if you were to be hurt, so come with me."

The little girl walked up carefully and took the Interbred's hand. It was warm and comforting; she instantly felt safe and soothed by the flower girl's presence.

"Who are you?" Hope asked Cosmo, earnestly.

"I'm Cosmo, a flower girl," she answered. "Now let's hurry and get outta here."

They made off towards the exit of the Sector 7 Slums and into Sector 6. Once there, they took a small rest, Cosmo knowing full well that the child needed a break from the run.

Hope tugged at Cosmo's dress. "Where's Cream? And Papa Bear? And Tails? Is he with them? Are they all gonna be OK?" she asked the flower girl, worry evident on her young face.

Cosmo reassured her. "Yeah, Tails and Cream are there helping your daddy," she answered. "They should be fine." A thought crossed her mind. '_OK, asking a small child would be kinda weird, but Tails must've been around for some time for little Hope to know him. Maybe I should ask her a couple questions,_' she reasoned to herself.

"OK then, Hope, we'll go to my house, you'll be safe there," Cosmo remarked, standing up and taking the little girl's hand in hers. As they began their trek, Cosmo looked down to Hope. "Say Hope," she began, the child looking up to her, beaming. "Tell me, what's Tails like?"

* * *

Sector 7 Slum: Support Pillar: 11:53 pm M.S.T.

"Jessie!" Cream yelled as her and Tails spotted the human woman leaning on a railing, her stomach spurting blood.

"Oh man," Tails moaned. "Not you too."

Jessie looked back to the two, smiling weakly. "Hey... Tails... Cream..." she spoke, her lips trembling. "Glad I... Could talk with you... One... Last time..."

Tails shook his head. "C'mon Jess, don't say last," he said.

Jessie laughed. "You're... a strange Mobian... Tails..." she responded, then looked up to the Plate suspended above them and closed her eyes. "I guess... this is... our... punishment... for the lives... we've taken... huh?" Summoning the last of her strength, she waved her arm, motioning to go. "Go... Help Bark... Go," she said softly, slumping to the ground. "Go..."

Tails and Cream kept running, resisting the urge to look back as another one of their friends lay there, dying. Upon reaching the top, they saw Bark shooting at the copters in the air, his hackles raised, snarling at them.

Hearing footsteps him, Bark turned around and came face to face with Cream and Tails. Bark's snarl turned into a grin. "Cream, you're back! Tails! You're not dead!" he exclaimed, glad that they were OK. "Most importantly, you guys came. Careful though, they're attacking from those helicopters!"

Cream looked upwards to the helicopter in the air, circling around. "They must be waiting for orders, we should check our equipment before they attack in full force!" she stated.

* * *

Sector 5 Slum: Cosmo's House: 12:05 pm M.S.T.

"Phew! Home at last," Cosmo announced to Hope, smiling. "I live here, isn't it nice, Hope?"

The small, blonde haired girl nodded, smiling back at her. "Uh-huh!" she exclaimed, jubilantly.

Suddenly, the door opened revealing Cosmo's mother and another figure, an echidna, beside her. He had violet-blue eyes and wore a navy-blue suit jacket with no undershirt, exposing his white, crescent-shaped birthmark. He had red fur, a pointed muzzle with red dreadlocks falling past his shoulders. He wore navy blue pants, slightly covering steel-toed shoes, which were coloured yellow, red and green and he wore a set of white fighting gloves, both pairs sporting two, large wickedly sharp spikes on the knuckles. On his suit, he bore the GUN Chaotix Unit emblem along with the rank of Unit Leader right below it.

"Welcome home, Cosmo," the echidna said in a deep voice.

Cosmo gave him a level stare. "Well, well, if it isn't Knuckles, leader of the 'illustrious' GUN Chaotix Unit," she remarked sarcastically. "To what do I owe this visit?"

Rosie watched helplessly as the Interbred and the Mobian confronted one another.

"You know what I'm here for," Knuckles replied, solemnly. "But this time, I don't think you have any choice in the matter."

Cosmo scoffed at him, looking away and closing her eyes as if she didn't care. "What? You can't use your regular methods of "friendly" persuasion so instead you resort to threats?" she retorted. Inwardly, she started to become nervous. '_What am I gonna do? Knuckles is starting to looks serious... And he always goes through with what he says when he's serious...,_' she remarked to herself.

Knuckles shrugged, looking up to the Plate above them, absentmindedly. "Well, I know now that you won't come quietly and my boss is kinda getting impatient with us," he divulged to the Interbred. "The threat of the whole unit being roboticized from the President'll make you do... unorthodox things to get the job done."

"As if this isn't the first time?" she shot back cooly.

Shaking his head, Knuckles sighed. "Alright, enough banter," he concluded, then looked sharply at her, raising his namesakes towards her mother. "Either you come with me, or both your mother and that girl will be hurt. And I'm not kidding around here either," He noticed Cosmo shifting; he was breaking her down.

Cosmo sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine, you win," she spoke softly, relinquishing her hold on Hope's hand. "Go to my mom, you'll be safe with her, don't worry about me though," she told the girl, speaking before she could. "Tails and the others'll save me, I'm sure."

"Hmph, doubt that," Knuckles mumbled to himself, turning away. Pulling out his PHS from his suit pocket, he dialed a number.

Moments later, an accented voice answered on the other end, complete with the sound of helicopter rotors whirling in the background. "'Ello Boss, time to go?" it said.

"Yes Nack, initiate the plan with Charmy and Vector," Knuckles relayed to the weasel. "Remember, you're to stall for as much time as necessary, then get out of there and return to HQ, got it?"

Nack smirked on the other line. "No worries, mate, we'll get the job done," he replied, confidence laced in his voice. "Fang out." And with that, the line went dead.

Putting his communicator back, Knuckles faced Cosmo. "Shall we?" he offered, leading her out to the helicopter parked within the garden, behind her house.

Hope ran towards Rosie and watched as Cosmo and Knuckles boarded the vessel, taking off into the night.

End Chapter

**A/N: **And there it is. Stick around, there's more to come. Hopefully sooner :P.


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